Arraignment of hostage taker's brod deferred

MANILA, Philippines - A Manila court deferred again yesterday the arraignment for serious disobedience of Senior Police Officer 3 Gregorio Mendoza, brother of slain hostage taker Rolando Mendoza.

Judge Ernest Louie Miguel of Manila Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 11 reset Mendoza’s arraignment and preliminary conference on the case to Dec. 2.

Chief Public Attorney Persida Rueda- Acosta asked Miguel to reconsider his decision to dismiss Mendoza’s motion to quash the charges against him.

Speaking to reporters, Mendoza said he is being charged for being the brother of the hostage taker.

“I guess they can fault me for the fact that (Rolando) Mendoza was my brother,” he said.

“I am not regretting that I went in the Grandstand to talk to Mendoza because it was the will of my nephews to talk to him.”

Mendoza said the government should go after government and police officials who had neglected their duty while the hostage crisis was unfolding.

“There were some high ranking officials who were let off the hook and were not even given at least a single sanction for their neglect of duty,” he said.

Mendoza was charged with serious disobedience under the Revised Penal Code for crossing police lines during the Aug. 23 hostage crisis to talk with his brother, dismissed police senior inspector Rolando Mendoza.

Mendoza’s arraignment was first postponed last Sept. 2.