A 13-year-old boy was rescued by authorities after his father took him as a hostage in Tandag City, Surigao del Sur, Saturday night.
Among those who helped save the young man was Surigao del Sur Governor Alexander Pimentel.
According to Pimentel, the former police officer was the hostage and he is the son of his former bodyguard, so he said he knew the family.
Family problems are said to be the reason for the hostage.
“Nag-away iyan sila ng asawa niya at ginulpi niya ata ang asawa niya pati ‘yong anak niya. Kaya lumayas ‘yong asawa niya at hinostage niya ngayon [‘yong anak],” Pimentel said in a telephone interview with ABS-CBN News.
(He and his wife had a fight and he beat up his wife and his son. So his wife ran away and he now held his son as a hostage.)
“Una, namatay ‘yong isang anak niya, ‘yong babae kasi na-dengue. Tapos siya ang sinisisi ng pamilya at ng buong in-laws niya. Ta’s ngayon, away na naman,” the governor added.
(First, one of his children died, because the daughter had dengue. Then he was blamed by his family and his entire in-laws. Then they had a fight.)
The hostage-taker later talked to Pimentel and the teenager was rescued.
Pimentel immediately took the young man to the police station to give to his mother.
In 2013, the suspect also took a family member as a hostage, said Pimentel.
Also read: Security guard held doctor a hostage in East Avenue Medical Center
5 family members killed in Manila fire
Five people died after a fire broke out at Gate 20 of the Parola Compound in Tondo, Manila.
The fire started before midnight and lasted until past 5 a.m. Sunday.
According to FSInsp. Gaudencio Magallanes, a family member, including a father and four children aged 12, 10, 8, and 3 years died in the fire.
They were all found in the bathroom and possibly trapped there.
The cause of the fire, which reached its fourth alarm, is still being investigated. The fire allegedly started at the victims’ house.
About 600 families lost their homes after 300 houses were destroyed. The damage is estimated at P3 million.