Hostage-taker assails pols, wants end to RP corruption

One of the men who took hostage 32 children and two day-school teachers in Manila used a live interview with radio stations to slam corruption, just as Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr entered the bus where the hostages were being kept. Jun Ducat said he is ready to face the consequences and assured that he won't hurt the children. He also called on voters to be wary of politicians, saying these are the same people involved in corruption and would take advantage of the poor. Ducat said corruption is now the most important issue now with the release of a report that the Philippines rank first among the most corrupt economies in Asia. Ducat had asked that he be allowed to talk to Revilla. Revilla told radio station dzBB that he knows Ducat as a "good man" who is also the godfather of one of his children. The senator said he had known of Ducat since he was a governor of Cavite province. The bus has been surrounded by police and is at the Bonifacio Shrine between Plaza Lawton and the Manila City Hall. The hostage-taker, in his tirade on air, said he had learned that politicians spend P300 million for their campaign and that these politicians will try to recover their expenses through corrupt practices. He added that he believes some P500 billion of the P1.126-trillion 2007 national budget would be stolen by politicians who surround the President Gloria Macapagl Arroyo. He said the President by herself cannot curb corruption by herself and she needs the cooperation of the people. Ducat also assailed the city government of Manila government for funding the beautification of tourist areas such as Baywalk, Rizal Avenue and the Cultural Center but failing to build more school buildings and hospitals. -GMANews.TV