Alabang hostage taker gunned down

A 35-year-old woman and her young daughter were rescued by the police from a still unidentified hostage-taker after the suspect was killed Sunday night in Muntinlupa City.

The suspect was gunned down by a member of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) when negotiations for victim Regina Salve Pulido’s release failed.

Pulido, of Posadas Village, Sucat, Muntinlupa, sustained several cuts on her neck and right hand when the hostage-taker poked a 29-inch fan knife on her.

The hostage-taker, on the other hand, died from a gunshot wound in the head and the chest.

Case investigator, Police Officer 3 Buenaventura de la Cuesta, said the hostage-taker was between 27 to 30 years old and well-built.

Investigation showed that at around 11:30 p.m., Pulido, a manager of a department store at the Alabang Town Center in Filinvest and her daughter, were inside their Mitsubishi Lancer (XGL 274) waiting for her husband at the parking lot of another mall, when the suspect suddenly forced himself inside the car.

SWAT members stationed near the mall noticed the commotion and immediately responded. They managed to convince the suspect to let the child go, De la Cuesta said.

They also negotiated for the release of Pulido, but the suspect demanded that authorities allow him and the victim to leave.

Poking a knife on Pulido, the suspect ordered her to drive away. The police, led by city police chief Senior Superintendent Erasto Lim Sanchez, trailed the vehicle to the South Luzon Tollway (SLT).

The vehicle then entered the East Service Road in Barangay Cupang and headed back to Alabang.

The police quickly set-up a road block in front of the Liberty Homes Subdivision, stopping the vehicle and paving the way for another negotiation.

The suspect, who was seated beside Pulido, held the knife against her throughout the hostage drama.

"However, when the chief (Sanchez) felt the negotiation failing, he ordered one of us to distract the suspect so the SWAT team could take the guy down," De la Cuesta told The STAR.

In a swift but calculated move, SPO3 Giovanni Martinez bumped the front of Pulido’s vehicle with the rear of a pick-up truck, throwing off the suspect away from his victim.

Seconds later, SWAT member PO2 Bonifacio Aquino shot the suspect.

Pulido was immediately rushed to the Asian Hospital for treatment of her wounds while the suspect was brought to the Ospital ng Muntinlupa where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

De la Cuesta said they believe the suspected had wanted to steal Pulido’s brand new car.

While the suspect had no identification card with him, police recovered from his possession a wallet containing P227, the weapon he used on Pulido, and another fan knife which he had inside his pocket.

De la Cuesta said the suspect’s remains is at the Ospital ng Muntinlupa.