Man holds own kids hostage in Tondo

What started out as a simple domestic spat morphed into a father taking his own children hostage in Tondo, Manila, on Tuesday evening.

After an argument with his wife, Danilo Roncales, 45, barricaded himself in his house on Sto. Niño Street with his four children. He then armed himself with three kinds of bladed weapons, including a samurai; an electrical flier; and a gas tank, which he threatened to blow up, Chief Insp. Jeffrey Decena of the Manila Police District Station 1 told the Inquirer over the phone.

Thankfully, following hours of negotiation, Roncales was subdued by the police. Also rescued were his children aged 2, 11, 12 and 15. His wife, Rosalie Pangan, told the police that Roncales had a history of drug and alcohol abuse and was also bad-tempered. She added that he recently returned to their house after abandoning her and the kids and spending several months in General Santos City.

The police said that Roncales might have been in a bad mood because based on text messages on his cell phone, his mistress in General Santos wanted to break up with him. He then argued with his wife whom he was demanding money from. When the police came in, they started talking to him but he refused to budge, prompting them to storm the house and take him by force.—Jaymee T. Gamil