MANILA, Philippines?Former Senior Insp. Rolando del Rosario Mendoza was a multi-awarded officer who was cited in 1986 by Jaycees International as one of the 10 outstanding policemen of the Philippines.

In January this year, he was ordered sacked by the Office of the Ombudsman together with four other policemen for allegedly extorting P20,000 from Christian Kalaw, a chef at Mandarin Hotel, who was also said to have been forced to swallow a sachet of ?shabu? (methamphetamine hydrochloride).

The officers reportedly accosted Kalaw for illegal parking, driving without a license and use of illegal drugs on April 9, 2008, in Manila.

Administrative charges were brought against Mendoza. He was relieved as chief of the Mobile Patrol Unit and dismissed by the Philippine National Police on Feb. 16, 2009, with all his retirement benefits forfeited.

A recipient of 17 awards and commendations, Mendoza was fired in spite of a recommendation by the PNP Internal Affairs Service and prosecutors that the case against him be thrown out after Kalaw failed to attend proceedings against the officer.

Quiet and unassuming

Before his police service, Mendoza was an electrician of National Parks Development Corp. assigned at Luneta. Fellow workers described him as a quiet, unassuming man who spent his break time reading books.

?We didn?t get to talk often but he was kind,? said Renato Calzita, a gardener. He added that he was shocked upon hearing about the hostage-taking.

?He didn?t seem like the kind of person who would do that. Maybe all the stress made him snap,? Calzita said of Mendoza.

Ricardo Mercado, an electrician who used to work with Mendoza, said friends often invited the policeman for drinks after work hours, but he would decline, saying he was busy with his studies.

Mendoza graduated from the Philippine College of Criminology with a BS degree in Criminology. He entered the PNP in April 1981 as a patrolman and rose to become a senior inspector in the Manila Police District (MPD).

Marcos loot

His brother, Senior Police Officer 4 Gregorio Mendoza, said Rolando led a team that chased and intercepted a van carrying 13 wooden crates each containing P5 million in cash that dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his aides tried to smuggle out of the country following his ouster in 1986.

For his part in the operation, Mendoza was cited by the Jaycees that year.

?If he wanted to use his authority to earn easy money, he could have easily taken that money and leave the service for good. But he did not even think about it,? said Gregorio, who is detailed with the MPD traffic bureau.

Mendoza?s wife Aurora, Gregorio and another brother, Florencio, came to Quirino Grandstand to try to help the negotiators.

?He was very desperate,? Florencio said. ?My brother felt he was a victim of injustice. He was not given a fair chance to defend himself.?

Florencio said he still could not believe that his brother, whom he described as ?kind and loving,? would do the daring act.

?We all feel his pain. What saddened us more is the fact that he had to take people hostage before the PNP could listen to him,? he lamented.

Son idolizes father

Mendoza?s youngest son, Bismark idolized his father that he decided to follow in his footsteps. Bismark is a police inspector and deputy chief of the Bangued police station in Abra province.

?He has served his country well. He?s a decorated policeman. He?s a good father to us,? Bismark, 26, told the Inquirer by phone.

He said he knew of his father?s troubles at work, and his struggle to be reinstated but had no idea he would take it that far.

?The last time we talked was last month, and he said everything was being worked out. I never thought he would do something like this.?

?We were all happy?

Born on Jan. 10, 1955, in Naic, Cavite, Mendoza has another son, Andrew, 33, a seaman, and a daughter, Mary Grace, 27, a call center agent. He and his wife live in Tanauan, Batangas. The family holds reunions once a month.

?We got together last month, and we ate and had fun. We were all happy,? Bismark said. ?Our house is full of his plaques, and I always dreamed that I would be able to achieve what he has achieved.?

Bismark has requested police officials to fetch him by helicopter from Abra so he could help in the negotiation. He said he felt that he would be able to get through to his father and convince him to end the hostage situation peacefully.

?I understand him and I believe he will understand me because I am a policeman too,? he said.

Chief Insp. Erwin Margarejo, MPD spokesperson, described Mendoza as ?an able officer who had maintained a good rapport with his subordinates.?

?I have never heard anything bad about him except for the case regarding that chef,? Margarejo said.