Man holds wife, kids hostage for 12 hours

Relatives comforted the wife and two children inside an ambulance after they were rescued from their father. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

A former overseas worker held his wife and two children hostage at gunpoint for over 12 hours in their house in barangay Tina-an, Naga City, south of Cebu yesterday.

He made no demands. The violent outburst was linked to his reported drug habit.

Veroni “Dodong” Bacon, 48, who was armed with a .357 cal. revolver, locked himself in a room upstairs with his wife Lendelia, 44; and daughters Verna, 22, and one-year-old Vania.

The trouble started about 5 a.m., when Bacon said he believed someone was in the kitchen and asked a passerby to call a tanod.

When his wife admonished him for hallucinating, he got irked and got his gun.

Authorities were held at bay as Bacon, who used to work as an industrial engineer in Canada, threatened to shoot his wife in the head as their children sat across them.

Members of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) were able to barge into the house and overpower the father at 6 p.m. Bacon was taken to the Naga City Police Office.

The hostages were whisked to a waiting ambulance which took them to a hospital. Lendelia had bruises in her arms. The two girls were unharmed

Violent quarrels

Devi, 23, the couple’s eldest child, was among those who tried to persuade her father to surrender.

“He is a good father, but he becomes violent when he gets high on drugs,” she said.

She said her father came home for good in 2008 from ovserseas after he failed a medical examination.

He tried applying for jobs abroad again but was rejected due to health problems.

Devi said her parents often had violent quarrels prompting them to live apart in 2009. The wife would visit him from time to time.

Bacon had built a house in Talisay City which was rented out, giving the family income.

On Friday night, Bacon asked his wife come to their family home in Naga the next day and bring their youngest child.

When the hostage-taking occured, the police were alerted after Lendelia shouted for help when she saw a barangay official coming to their house.

Naga City Mayor Valdemor Chiong also arrived about 7 a.m. to speak to Bacon.

Bacon’s two elder daughters Devi and Verna rushed home after learning about the commotion. At that point, Bacon commanded Verna to get inside the house and join her mother and sister.

At noon, Bacon asked for food. By 2 p.m. he asked for a lawyer, afraid he would be jailed if he surrendered.

Negotiations went on the whole day with relatives taking turns trying to persuade him to release his wife and children.

At 4:30 p.m., Bacon, wearing a cap with his face covered with a shirt, appeared at the bedroom window. He tossed bullets from his gun before finally dropping the weapon, as a signal of surrender.

He also allowed his wife and children to show themselves to the police.

But the stalemate continued until dusk, prompting the police to take Bacon by force. / With UP TACLOBAN intern LE-AN LAI LACABA

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