Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim, who has kept a low profile on Monday regarding the hostage-taking drama, has shared Tuesday with the media his side of the story.

He has divulged that due to the weird demeanor of 38-year-old bus driver Alberto Lubang, the police are now investigating a possible "tie-up" between him and Mendoza. "He was not afraid, he was very friendly towards Mendoza, and patawa-tawa pa nga siya (he was just laughing)," he observed. Lim commented that a normal hostage would not act so casually, and he believes that Lubang breaking his cuffs using a nail file is absurd.

Dismissed Captain Rolando Mendoza's brother, on the other hand, is considered a possible accomplice as well for agitating Mendoza during the incident, telling his brother "Don't give in" when the letter from the Ombudsman came. "The brother said they wanted to be immediately reinstated," said Lim.

Lim defends Vice Mayor, MPD

When hurled with questions regarding the performance of Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno and the MPD, Lim stressed that "it's useless to blame one another."

He lauded the efforts of Moreno, who "went out of his way to secure a letter from the Ombudsman." Moreno went to the Ombudsman Monday afternoon to get a letter for Mendoza, and the letter assured that Mendoza's case would be reviewed and given justice.

"Nakatulong si Vice Mayor, ginawa na niya ang first step para sa negotiation. Binalewala lang ni Mendoza (Vice Mayor has helped, he did the first step for the negotiation. The only problem was that it was disregarded by Mendoza)," he said.

As for the MPD, Lim believes that "they did their best." He clarified that their actions were "misinterpreted, for there was a misunderstanding with regards to the participation of different sectors."

Lim also mentioned that the MPD were prepared for a long wait, but their wait was put to a halt when Mendoza started firing bullets inside the bus.

"I'm not happy with what happened during the incident because people died, but I believe the MPD did their best," he repeated.

The other side of the hostage story

Lim also shared snippets of what happened during the hostage incident. Apparently, after the initial letter from the Ombudsman was presented to Mendoza, a second letter was made to convince the Philippine National Police (PNP) to officially reinstate him.

"Hindi lang umabot 'yung letter," Lim said. "Mendoza already gave an ultimatum of ten minutes, threatening to make an example inside the bus and started firing after that."