Taguig hostage-taker planned the attacks – police

The police investigating the recent hostage drama in Taguig City said the couple who held four people hostage inside the City Hall of Justice planned their attack.

Taguig police chief Superintendent Alfred Sotto Corpus said that Almario Bautista, earlier identified as Almario Villegas, who was killed when police stormed the courtroom, and his live-in partner Delia de la Cruz, were prepared and seemed intent to harm people they are expecting to encounter that day.

"Apart from the gun and hand grenade that the hostage-takers were able to bring inside, a handcuff and ‘thumbcuff’ were also found in their possession," he noted.

Corpus said the handcuff was the one used by De la Cruz on lawyer Frederick Vallestero, while the "thumbcuff" was reportedly used on Vallestero’s client, Gina Ramos.

De la Cruz was also found to have brought in a fan knife inside the building.

Bautista and De la Cruz were defendants in a civil land dispute. They were asking complainant Ramos to have the preliminary conference of the case reset but the latter refused, prompting the couple to hold Ramos, Vallestero and two court employees — clerk Donna Dunuan and stenographer Liwanag Saloma – hostage inside the courtroom of Branch 266 Tuesday afternoon.

The police on Thursday filed kidnapping and serious illegal detention charges against De la Cruz. She is also facing charges for illegal possession of weapons as well as cases of direct assault on officers of the court and physical injuries.

Meanwhile, De la Cruz denied her alleged participation in the hostage-taking incident, claiming that Bautista acted on his own and even threatened her.