Police surround bus in hostage standoff

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Police in helmets and flak jackets crouched beside a bus with 15 Chinese tourists held hostages inside today after firing shots at the tires in a bid to end a daylong standoff led by a dismissed policeman.

There was no immediate word on casualties. But the driver who escaped moments before police surrounded the bus in downtown Manila said the hostage-taker, armed with an M16 rifle, had opened fire at the tourists, police officer Roderick Mariano said.

Police used hammers to smash side windows, door and windscreen, but still did not enter the vehicle and there was no movement seen inside.

The gunman earlier released nine hostages — leaving 15 inside — and demanded his job back to free the rest.

Hours after seizing the bus, he released two women, three children, a diabetic man and three Filipinos — including a tour guide and a photographer, police said.

The hostage-taker, identified as former Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza, 55, was demanding he be given back his job on the police force a year after he was fired, Manila police chief Rodolfo Magtibay said.

According to newspaper reports from 2008, he was among five officers charged with robbery, extortion and grave threats after a Manila hotel chef filed a complaint alleging the policemen falsely accused him of using drugs to extort money.

A Chinese diplomat who was monitoring Monday's negotiations said the hostages were "calm and peaceful" and appealed to  authorities not to jeopardize their safety as the daylong talks with the gunman continued into the evening.

Bai Tian, deputy mission chief at the Chinese Embassy, told reporters they wanted every step taken "to secure the safety and security of our Chinese nationals."

Hong Thai Travel Services Ltd. General Manager Susanna Lau told Hong Kong's Cable TV the tour group had left the Chinese territory of Hong Kong on Aug. 20 for a visit to Manila and was scheduled to fly back to Hong Kong on Monday. She said a Hong Kong tour guide and 20 tourists from the territory — three children and 17 adults — were on the bus.

Mendoza hitched a ride on the bus from the historic walled city of Intramuros and then "declared he is taking the passengers hostage" when it reached Jose Rizal Park alongside Manila Bay, Magtibay said.

The area also includes the seaside US Embassy and a number of hotels.