‘Drunk’ hostage taker in Iloilo-bound passenger ship shot dead

CEBU CITY, Philippines –A crew member was shot dead after he took hostage a 13-year-old girl at the sun deck of another passenger vessel shortly before it was scheduled to depart for Iloilo City on Tuesday night.

A policeman was forced to shoot Andrew Lindio, 2nd mate of MV Filipinas Butuan, after the suspect tried to stab Gina Jane Pelingon, a passenger of MV Filipinas Cebu, in the cheek.

Both MV Filipinas Butuan and MV Filipinas Cebu are owned by Cebu-based Cokaliong Shipping Lines (CSL).

The hostage-taking incident, however, didn’t stop MV Filipinas Cebu to depart for Iloilo at 7 pm Tuesday.

Chase Cokaliong, CSL vice president for fleet operation said he was shocked with what happened and assured that the company would conduct its own investigation.

He said Lindio has been working for the company and doesn’t have any negative records.

Police said Lindio, 32 and a native of Alegria town in Cebu, was reportedly drunk when he went inside MV Filipinas Cebu past 6 p.m. and went wild.

Chief Insp. Wildemar Tiu, chief of the Waterfront Police Station, said Lindio then snatched the girl who was with her father at the lower economy deck and dragged her to the sun deck.

He said SPO4 Rogelio Cañete Jr. and PO2 Henry Alejandrino, who happened to be in Pier 1, noticed the commotion and immediately went inside the vessel.

Passenger Roy Redoña, 17 said he asked Lindio to release the girl so he wouldn’t get hurt but the suspect didn’t utter a single word.

A few minutes later, the policemen arrived.

When the suspect tried to stab the girl, he added Cañete shot Lindio in the nape.

Pelingon suffered a stab wound in the right check and a grazed wound in the neck.

She was brought to Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center where she was in stable condition.

Pelingon, a sophomore high school student, is a scholar of Sister of Mary School in Barangay Poblacion, Talisay City. She was among of the 200 students who were heading home to Antique for their semestral break.

Tiu said homicide investigators were conducting an investigation why Lindio took the girl hostage.