Word: ducats
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...Speaking through an amplifier to the reporters who soon gathered at the site, Ducat announced that he'd taken the children hostage for their own good, demanding that the 145 children at his daycare center receive a free college education and housing...
...invited the children for a field trip," daycare center owner Jun Ducat, told a local radio station via mobile phone. Ducat, along with at least one accomplice who wasn't immediately identified, took control of the bus at around 9 a.m., parking it illegally outside Manila's city hall. When the bus got the attention of police, the men announced they were holding two teachers and an estimated 30 children hostage. The men said they were armed with an Uzi submachine gun and hand grenades, although Ducat insisted that he didn't intend to hurt the children. "In case...
...According to media reports, Ducat has a history of quixotic protests. In 1998, he climbed a tower to protest against a politician whom he accused of being insufficiently Filipino. And in 1998, he reportedly held two priests hostage with a hand grenade (which later turned out to be a fake) because of a labor dispute. No charges were filed in either incident...
...Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered police to resolve the standoff peacefully, and officers throughout the day communicated with Ducat by holding up cardboard signs. Though he said he had enough food for two days, Ducat reached an agreement that afternoon to surrender...
...after an eight-and-a-half-hour standoff - the doors of the bus opened to cheers from the crowds and children began to pour out. In the door of the bus, Jun Ducat - with what looked like a submachine gun slung under his arm - and an accomplice could be seen delicately handling what appeared to be hand grenades and passing them out to police. The two men were rushed into a police van and immediately whisked away to headquarters. This time, officers say, charges will be filed against them...