Hostage taker dies after 6-hour drama

CEBU, Philippines - Police shot dead a despondent man who held three nephews hostage for six hours in Sitio Danawan, Barangay Biga, Toledo City yesterday.

All three children survived the ordeal, but one was hurt when hacked by the hostage taker, who was identified as 30-year-old Allan Bolo.

 Police were left without any other option but to shoot Bolo, who hit one of the children with the bolo he was carrying.

Bolo reportedly got angry when his common-law wife left him last Tuesday and had been talking to himself on Wednesday evening while honing his scythe and bolo.

It was at around 6:30 a.m. yesterday when he lured his three nephews, two aged 3 years old and one 5 years old, to his house by offering them boiled cassava.

When the children went into house, he immediately closed the door and the windows and did not allow them to leave.

His elder sister, Barcelisa Taberos, 35, told The FREEMAN that she became curious how come the house was closed and peeked.

There she saw Bolo with the children. When the hostage taker saw her, he shouted that he was holding the three children hostage.

Negotiations

Barangay Captain Marcelina Bolo, a relative of Allan, was summoned to the house to negotiate for the release of the children.

After two hours of trying to talk Allan into giving up, they decided to call for police assistance.

Six policemen from the Toledo City went to the area and shortly thereafter, Ret. Police Sr. Supt. Leo Acebedo, security chief of Carmen Copper Corporation, also went to the area.

The police asked him to be the negotiator and Bolo started airing his demands.

The hostage taker wanted his common law wife, Arlene Omintado, to come back.

The police then immediately sent somebody to Barangay Luray where Omintado reportedly went to, but failed to locate her.

Somebody informed the police that Omintado had already gone to Cebu City with her three-year-old daughter with Bolo.

When he learned that Omintado could not be found, Bolo asked that he be allowed to go home to Davao.

Acebedo offered P10,000 to Bolo, but the latter refused the money as he changed his mind and instead asked for a M-16 Armalite rifle, a caliber .45 pistol, and a hand grenade.

Sr. Supt. Patrocinio Comendador, director of the Cebu Provincial Police Office, arrived at the scene at this point and took over as incident commander.

Comendador instructed the police to be ready to shoot if they find the opportunity.

He then offered a M-16 rifle, whose firing pin has been removed, in order to lure Bolo to open the window.

When the hostage taker opened the window to receive the gun, a policeman open fired and hit him on the left side of the head.

Two of the children were tied to Bolo’s waist while a third one, the one who got hurt, was on his shoulders to serve as shield.

When he fell to the floor, Bolo hacked the three-year-old child, who was on his shoulder while the two others were spared.

The boy was hit on the right arm.

Both Bolo and the child were rushed to the Carmen Copper Hospital in Barangay Don Andres Soriano. The boy’s injury wasn’t serious, but Bolo was declared dead on arrival.

Comendador said that when his team saw the situation with the three hostages, they were left with no choice but to shoot Bolo.

“Delikado na ang mga bata ang usa gihanaan na ug sundang lisod ug maangin ang mga biktima nga wala’y nahimo ang kapulisan,” he said.

“Naluwas namo ang mga bata apan naigo gyud ang bukton sa bata nga iyang gisung-ay,” Comendador said.

When Bolo was led out of the house to be taken to the hospital, angry neighbors punched him.

The three children are now with social workers to help them cope with the trauma.

Jealousy

Bolo reportedly got jealous with one of their neighbors, who he suspected was having an affair with his wife.

His wife was also reportedly a victim of domestic violence as Bolo used to hit her.

Taberos said that they advised Omintado to leave Bolo last Tuesday after a heated argument over rumors of the illicit affair.

The relatives of the hostage taker urged Omintado to leave after Bolo almost hacked her in his rage.

“Kung dili namo palayason diha ihawon hinuon unya siya,” Taberos said.

Araceli Alindao, 27, cousin of Bolo, also claimed that the suspect was mauled a few years ago in Cebu City when he was still working as a laborer.

“Napuspusan na siya sa una kay napareglahan, human ato nalikuyon na man unya na-nerbiyoson na,” Alindao said.—/NLQ (FREEMAN)