By Hilda Austria
MALASIQUI, Pangasinan – Police personnel have arrested the suspect-father and rescued the daughter during a hostage situation in Bugallon town in Pangasinan province on Monday night.
In a phone interview on Tuesday, Bugallon Municipal Police Station investigator Chief Master Sgt. Rodolfo Naungayan said they received a call late Monday afternoon about a hostage crisis at a residence in Barangay Bacabac in Bugallon, involving a 55-year-old father who held his 18-year-old daughter hostage, and they responded immediately.
He said the suspect initially held his wife and four children hostage, three of whom are minors.
“The wife and the three minor children were able to escape, but the 18-year-old daughter was held captive with a bolo knife,” he added.
Naungayan said the hostage situation lasted two hours, ending with the arrest of the suspect and the rescue of the victim, who suffered minor injuries.
“They were both brought to the rural health unit for medical examination. The suspect is now under custody, and charges against him are being prepared, while the victims are undergoing debriefing and counseling with the Municipal Social Welfare Development Office,” he said.
Mental health issues
According to the initial police investigation, the suspect’s wife said her husband is suffering from depression, which she believed began after they lost their two sons in an accident in 2018.
“The wife said there were signs of his depression even before. Prior to the hostage-taking, the suspect was allegedly hallucinating, seeing things that were not there, and he also claimed that somebody was trying to poison their family, so he would not let them out of the house,” Naungayan said.
He noted that the suspect has yet to take a drug test but affirmed he is not on the town’s watchlist of drug personalities. (PNA)
