Got this from Andrew Pamorada.
LBC Robbing leads to Lasalle hostage taking
Aug 13,2010
By Andrew Pamorada
According to LBC personnel, about 3:30pm in the afternoon, 3 guys declared hold-up on the LBC branch along Taft Ave.,(north bound lane) near Quirino Ave. I asked the LBC personnel, what or how much was taken, but they told me they are still verifying on their inventory what was really was lost (but I think they don’t just really want it to say to me). But according to GMA News reports, they got 10,000 pesos.
After the robbing incident, the 3 hold-uppers ran on Taft going to Lasalle. Two of the hold-uppers ran on south-bound side of Taft Ave.(Lasalle side) and the other one on the other side of Taft (across Lasalle). The LBC personnel shouted “Hold-up!”, so the people around started running to chase them. Eventually the first hold-upper was caught along Taft near Dagonoy St.(in front of Velasco Gate, street where Sinangag Express is) and was mob by the people (a.k.a. kinuyog ng taong bayan, hahahaha).
Security personnel were alert through their radios by then when the first person was running and was caught by the people. However, they don’t know that there are still two hold-uppers that was with them.
Esmeraldo Aliño, one of the security guards of Lasalle, was in Agno St. by that time, and when he heard on the radio that the hold-uppers was caught, he rushed towards where the first hold-upper was caught using his security motorcycle. However, while he was in Castro St., he saw one man bare-footed that was running from Taft going to Agno.
Aliño asked the guy, “O Kuya, bakit ka tumatakbo?”
The guy said, “Ah, kuya me naholdup dun sa Taft!”
Aliño was wondering why he was reddish(namumula) and was barefooted, so he thought that maybe he is also a hold-upper so they caught him and eventually know that he was also one. They also got a tear-gas from him afterwards, which was learn that it is supposed to be used in LBC robbing, however it failed and didn’t work.
I was in Gokongwei Building that time in Lasalle, supposedly going up to call one of my groupmates for our thesis meeting, when I saw that there was something wrong in Taft so checked it out. (And that time, I was still innocent that the 2 of the 3 hold-uppers were already caught .) As we were looking outside the Gokongwei Gate what was happening, there is one guy wearing blue running towards EGI building(beside Gokongwei). After a while, in front of EGI building, he drew a gun from his waist, AND SAW IT PERSONALLY caught a guy wearing yellow and pointed the gun to the guy wearing yellow. (Eventually, I learned that guy wearing yellow was one of the electrician of Lasalle.)
We were frightened by that time, so we went inside Gokongwei. (Even the guard assigned Gokongwei that time was also shocked that there was still another hold-upper) So when I got inside, *photojournalist instinct*, got my camera and press id, which was on Gokongwei lobby and went out again even though the situation is very delicate.
The third hold-upper was the only person with a gun among the 3 hold-uppers. He caught the Lasalle electrician and walked towards Velasco Gate.
The hold-upper saw a Lasalle student crossing Taft that time going to Velasco, so he freed the electrician from Lasalle and caught the girl student and brought her towards Velasco Gate. (Some people said maybe the the big built electrician might fight off, so the hold-upper maybe choose the Lasallian student instead)
The Lasallian student was said to be a first year student. She was crying while the hold-upper is pointing the gun to her waist.
Negotiations were undertaken and local police and security of Lasalle talked to him. Afterwards, there is this guy wearing a white polo, went out from Velasco Gate, and went in front of the hold-upper and talked to him. (According to W.H. Taft residences employees, the white polo guy was a organic professor of Lasalle.) The hold-upper surrendered and the police got his gun and the people looking around want to knocked him down but then was blocked by the police. Because of the people who want to knock him, the police decided to open the Velasco Gate and was brought inside Lasalle, just inside the gate.
The suspects were brought to Station 9 of the Manila Police District and the girl was brought to the hospital. According to GMA News, the 3 suspects were tricycle drivers and that was their first time to robbed, but the police officers don’t believe that it is true.
*all of this is from my first hand experience and based on first-hand experience of DLSU guards, LBC personnel, tricycle drivers along taft and bystanders and info from GMA News.