School teachers, children held hostage on Philippine bus

CNN Website:- http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/03/26/monday/index.html

In an attempt to make a statement regarding the poor domestic conditions young children in the Phillipines have to put up with, Jun Ducat, an owner of a day-care centre in Manila took a bus-load of school teachers and children hostage outside the City Hall of Manila. Jun Ducat and his aide were both armed with explosives and firearms and having staged such antics before the upcoming elections, both of them look to be severely punished.

However, many parents of the children who were taken hostage have come out to defend Jun and his aide as they feel that he was making a valid point as the nation gets ready to go to the polls to vote. In fact, many Filipinos feel that what Jun did was an act of sacrifice. In their eyes, Jun is like a revered hero who was willing to take the risk of being prosecuted in order to draw attention to the appalling standard of living poverty stricken Filipinos put with in slums and squatter settlements.

Although the intention was very honorable, I must say the ends did not justify the means in this case. In fact, Jun Ducat is setting a very bad example for young children in the Philippines, that you can get whatever you demand by wielding a grenade and a sub-machine gun. In a country already paralysed by violence in the form of terrorists and political killings, acts such as this cannot be tolerated. I believe much more would have been achieved if Mr. Jun Ducat staged his protest through more peaceful and diplomatic means. One might say the authorities would not give a hoot if Mr. Jun Ducat did things differently but it would certainly have saved him from prosecution, which would enable him to do more to help those he's protesting for. There is no doubt that Mr. Jun Ducat has committed an offence. But I hope the authorities won't punish him too severely because his intentions were indeed very admirable and honorable.