Tears, fears for parents of hostages

Gemma Arroyo was near hysterical as she reached the police line cordoning off the bus in downtown Manila where her six-year-old daughter was among 32 children being held hostage.

"Please, please sir, let our children out," Arroyo wailed as she tried to break through the police line.

She said she had thought her daughter was at a mountain resort, the destination of the pre-school’s field trip, when she heard the news.

"They do that every year and then I saw the hostage drama on television. My heart broke," Arroyo told AFP, tears streaming down her face.

Nearby another terrified mother was screaming hysterically, demanding that police and negotiators do something to get the children freed.

Police cordoned off an entire block around Manila city hall as anxious parents and relatives tried to make sense of why the head of the pre-school center himself, Armando "Jun" Ducat, had taken his young charges hostage.

"He told us it was a field trip. We knew Mr. Ducat and he has been very kind. Please let our children go," said Clara Moreno. "They are innocent. We know you set up the school, so we don’t understand why you are doing this."

She said she feared for her son, Reynard, because he easily gets scared by guns and armed men on television.

Claiming to be armed with grenades and handguns, Ducat and two other associates hijacked the bus and demanded to go on the airwaves.

In a rambling message aired on local radio, Ducat said he was upset because many people remained poor and that rich politicians were not doing enough to shore up the economy.

He pledged not to harm the children but promised to prolong the crisis if the government failed to meet his main demand ó that 145 pre-schoolers, including the hostages, be given free housing and education until college.

ìEven if our blood would spill, I will not fire a gun,î Ducat said, before demanding that Sen. Ramon Revilla, an action movie star he claims to be a friend, negotiate on his behalf.

After 45 minutes, Revilla convinced Ducat to free one child and said the hostage-taker wanted to get more airtime. - AFP