Bodies, survivors of Manila hostage drama head home

MANILA, Philippines — Most survivors of a tragic hostage drama were returning home to Hong Kong along with the bodies of eight slain tourists Wednesday, while the Philippines grappled with outrage over police mishandling and botched negotiations with the gunman. The interior secretary acknowledged police were ill-prepared and that a series of lapses might have instigated bloodshed Monday when the hostage-taker, a disgruntled ex-policeman demanding his job back, killed eight bus passengers and shot others before a police sniper killed him. Nine other passengers had been released hours earlier and seven were rescued from the bullet-riddled bus, three of them is serious condition. One of the wounded will remain in intensive care in Manila, and another will be brought back on a medivac plane, said Hong Kong Undersecretary for Security T.K. Lai. The rest were to fly aboard a chartered plane to Hong Kong later Wednesday after a Buddhist ceremony and a send-off by military officers at the Manila airport, Philippine Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman said.
Workers at a funeral parlor loaded the coffins into wooden boxes for the flight home. They left for the airport in a caravan of hearses led by a police car. A small group of about 10 people, hands clasped in front of their chests, hummed a Buddhist chant. President Benigno Aquino III, facing his first major crisis since taking office on June 30, declared Wednesday a national day of mourning in solidarity with the people of Hong Kong. Flags were lowered at government offices and embassies. A consternated China demanded a full investigation. The Chinese ambassador visited Aquino on Tuesday, and the president talked on the phone with Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang. Philippine Interior Secretary Jessie Robredo, who is in charge of the national police, acknowledged there were problems with how the crisis was handled. "Had we been better prepared, better equipped, better trained, maybe the response would have been quicker despite the difficulty," Robredo told The Associated Press. He added, "All the inadequacies happened at the same time." Manila police chief Rodolfo Magtibay offered to go on leave while the investigation was ongoing. The assault firearms used by police commandos will be subjected to ballistic tests to determine if some of the hostages were hit by police gunfire, officials said. Authorities were criticized for failing to prevent the brother of hostage-taker Roland Mendoza, who is also a policeman, from intervening in the negotiations. Police officials said the brother urged Mendoza not to continue the talks unless authorities return his firearm, which was confiscated from him during the standoff. Gregorio Menzona then threw a tantrum in front of TV cameras, which were broadcasting the daylong drama live, apparently prompting his brother to start shooting. Filipino driver Alberto Lubang, who said he escaped as Mendoza opened fire, said the gunman was watching his brother resisting being handcuffed and loaded into a police car on TV inside the hijacked bus. Aquino on Monday also criticized TV coverage, saying that footage of Mendoza's brother being taken into custody "might have further agitated the hostage-taker." A heartbreaking picture emerged of the victims — a mother of three who lost her husband and two daughters, an injured teenager oblivious of her parents' deaths and a tour guide who aspired to become a yoga teacher. Britain's Foreign Office said that two of the hostages who were released were British nationals. Three of the fatalities were Canadian, Philippine police said. Survivor Amy Ng mourned the deaths of her husband Ken Leung, whom she said confronted the gunman, and daughters Doris and Jessie, aged 21 and 14. Her son, Jason, was wounded in the head and she will stay in Manila with him until he is fit to fly back. "I thought I would fight for survival so I could take care of my children, but two of them have already died," a sobbing Ng said Tuesday. A bedridden, catatonic Tracey Wong told Hong Kong reporters she hid under a seat on the bus while Mendoza fired at the hostages. "I want to find daddy and mommy quickly and see if they're OK," the 15-year-old said. But Hong Kong's radio RTHK reported that both her parents were among those killed, identifying her father as 51-year-old Wong Tze-lam. Tour operator Hong Thai Travel Services general manager Susanna Lau praised a slain tour guide, 31-year-old Masa Tse, for his vigilance and decadelong service. TV footage showed him peeking out of the bus during his captivity and later with one hand handcuffed to a position near the bus door. — AP