Philippine authorities hope hostage re-enactment provides clues

Manila: Philippine government officials plan to hold a re-enactment of the tragic hostage-taking incident that took place in Manila on August 23.

The re-enactment will be based on testimonies of survivors, who are now in Hong Kong and who could help authorities by providing vital knowledge about the seating arrangements of all 25 people on a tourist bus held hostage by Ronaldo Mendoza.

"This is important and the testimonies of two survivors who are now in Hong Kong will be taken by a Filipino investigator," said Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, without revealing the identify of the survivors to be interviewed.

Video clips showing where the bodies of the eight hostages, including the hostage-taker, were found inside the tourist bus, will be used in the re-enactment, a source told Gulf News.

Earlier, Next Media Animation made a video-re-enactment of the incident for a Hong Kong Apple daily, a copy of which was uploaded on several internet sites.

"Even though we need forensic evidence in order to simulate the possible occurrences during the crime, this is just a recreation of what happened. It is not 100 per cent accurate and does not intend to mislead people," a group disclaimer said. The video showed how Mendoza shot all eight hostages before he was shot in the head himself.

Earlier, Inquirer quoted an investigation report which said, "Based on initial investigations, none of the hostages were killed by "friendly-fire", or bullets from the guns of the police assault team.