Ducat: Too late for second thoughts

Had he known beforehand that he would be charged with a non-bailable offense, civil engineer Armando Ducat Jr. might have had second thoughts about taking 26 kindergarten pupils and four teachers hostage inside a tourist bus for 10 hours on March 28.

Ducat and his alleged accomplice Caesar Augustus Carbonell are now detained at the Integrated Jail located on the second floor of the Manila Police District (MPD) headquarters.

Ducat admitted that: "If I had known that I would be charged with serious illegal detention, I might have thought my plans of holding (the children) hostage through more thoroughly."

During the two weeks he spent planning his moves, Ducat thought he would be able to endure imprisonment.

However, he quickly added that he is confident that the cases of serious illegal detention and illegal possession of firearms and explosives in relation to the Omnibus Election Code Gun Ban would not prosper in court.

Speaking to reporters from his jail cell, the 56-year-old businessman said that the charges would not stand in court "simply because there are no complainants."

The 26 children aged 6 and 7, who study at the Musmos Day Care Center which Ducat owned, and their parents have earlier expressed disinterest in filing any case against him.

He recalled that, in 1989, he held two priests hostage – Monsignor Tomas Gonzales and Fr. Rudy Tulibas – at the San Roque Parish in Blumentritt, Manila. The priests did not file any charges against him.

The hostage drama that started at past 9:00 a.m. Wednesday captured the attention of the world and placed the Arroyo administration in an embarrassing light. It reportedly reflected the government’s lack of attention to poor residents.

But Ducat believed that he did not contribute to the "destruction of the country’s image, because the Philippine’s image is already tattered. It has even been reported in the newspapers that the Philippines is the most corrupt country in Asia."

Besides the charges filed before the Manila City Prosecutor’s Office, Manila Mayor Lito Atienza said the city government may file charges of violation of the Human Security Act of 2007 or the Anti-Terrorism Law against Ducat.

However, Ducat said he is not disturbed by the possible terrorism charges: "Those corrupt officials in government are the real terrorists, not me."

He added that, during the hostage-taking incident, he called for Atienza because the Parola Compound is within the City of Manila, but Atienza did not approach the bus. – With Nestor Etolle