Three gunmen who hijacked a bus in the southern Philippines escaped to freedom yesterday as attempts by police and soldiers to rescue about a dozen hostages went awry after a Catholic bishop intervened. Officials said the bus, owned by Rural Transit, was on its way to Zamboanga City from Cagayan de Oro on Tuesday when the gunmen, wearing ski masks, seized it near Plaridel town in Misamis Occidental province and held 16 passengers hostage. The gunmen freed late in the day a six-year girl and the driver after negotiations with politicians and then forced one of the hostages to drive the bus to the neighboring province of Zamboanga del Sur.But the driver, apparently afraid that he would be killed by the hostage-takers, rammed a road block in Pulacan town near an army base and jumped out of the bus and was rescued by security forces, said Maj. Gen. Gabriel Habacon, commander of the army's 1st Infantry Division. As the bandits threatened to kill the remaining hostages if security forces try to rescue them, Bishop Emmanuel Cavajar of the Diocese of Pagadian offered himself and a getaway pick-up truck the gang demanded in exchange for the freedom of the hostages. Most of the hostages, including women, were released after more than 24 hours of tense negotiations between the gunmen and politicians. But the gunmen reneged on their promise and held on to four other hostages whom they used as shield during the escape. Along a jungle area in Lakewood town, the gunmen jumped out from the pick-up truck, leaving pursuing police and soldiers clueless.
"The bishop is okay and he is together with the other hostages. They are all fine, God really works in mysterious ways," one of the bishop's workers, Jennelyn Ridoblado, told Arab News by phone from the Bishop's Palace in Pagadian City. Soldiers and police were chasing the gunmen, who fled into a wooded area carrying a bag thought to contain weapons, said police Superintendent Eldorado Gallego. One of the gunmen named Jun, who acted as the group's spokesman, said they only wanted to get away. "We don't want to harm the hostages, all we ask now is for a get-away car and a safe passage," he told the radio network DXRZ Radio Agong by cell phone.
The gunmen said they were carrying "some other stuff" they could not surrender, in addition to three automatic pistols, four grenades, and a machine pistol. "We believe they are plain gunrunners who were just surprised at the checkpoint," Gallego said. Police initially said they thought the hijackers were allied to local communist rebel groups.