Asia-Pacific

Philippines hostage crisis ends, victims freed

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-12-13 19:44

PROSPERIDAD, Philippines: A group of tribal armed men has agreed to free more than 40 civilians they detained at a hilly hide-out in the southern Philippines, ending the 4-day hostage crisis peacefully, government officials said Sunday.

Santiago Cane, a vice governor of Agusan del Sur province, said the government crisis management committee on Sunday signed an agreement with Joebert "Ondo" Perez, the leader of the 19 armed hostage takers, to release the hostages.

The agreement was reached after a two-hour closed door meeting.

Rescuers are now traveling on the mountainous trail to the armed group's temporary hideout 3 kilometers away from the provincial capital Prosperidad to get the 42 civilians.

Cane said as agreed the government would not file charges against the group and will transfer previous murder cases against Perez to a tribal council for review.

Perez and a dozen of his followers raided the remote village of San Martin on Thursday morning, taking away 75 civilians, including teachers and pupils to protest the police arrest warrants against him.

All children hostages were freed after the first-day negotiation but Perez demanded the government reconsider controversial charges filed against him and investigate the alleged murder of his family members by one of his rival tribes.