Mendiola looked like a "backpack" tourist who was on his way to Hong Kong for a vacation. He wore a faded brown shirt and pants, and worn out shoes.
By his appearance, Mendiola could not have passed himself off as someone going to Hong Kong on a shopping spree – or for that matter a person carrying P6 million in cash.
Maybe it was his way of throwing off suspicion that he was a courier for a huge amount of money. His passport, attached to an old one, showed that he had been regularly shuttling between Metro Manila and Hong Kong.
The STAR checked Mendiola’s house in Barangay Addition Hills in San Juan. It is a big house with a sprawling garden surrounded by high walls. It is located in an upper middle-class neighborhood.
Mendiola’s parents refused to talk with The STAR, and although his father admitted that Juancho is his son, he did not say if Juancho lived in the same house.
An official of Barangay Addition Hills told The STAR he knows the Mendiolas. He was the one who led The STAR to the house of Juancho’s parents.
Mendiola must have been a "very important passenger" because Philippine Airlines (PAL) Flight 302 could not leave without him.
Flight 302 was delayed for nearly two hours. Mendiola finally arrived shortly before 8:15 a.m. when the aircraft was preparing to take off from the new Centennial Terminal II.
PAL was scheduled to fly to Hong Kong at 6:05 a.m. but it was able to take off only at 8:15 a.m. because Mendiola had not arrived on time. However, Mendola failed to board the plane because Custom agents had already arrested him.
Airport observers told The STAR yesterday airlines do not usually wait for passengers after boarding time, and that planes take off as scheduled.
Mendiola became a newsmaker yesterday when Customs agents arrested him after P6 million in cash was found in his traveling bag as he was rushing to board the plane at the last minute.
Former starlet Laarni Enriquez, one of the mistresses of President Estrada, was also aboard the same flight. She is now in Hong Kong.–Rey Arquiza, Jose Rodel Clapano, Christina Mendez