In Philippines, an armed former policeman has taken hostage a bus with foreign tourists in downtown Manila today, demanding his reinstatement to the force. According to officials and media reports, several tourists including three children have been released from the bus. An official from the bus operator Hong Thai Travel said that there are 20 tourists, most of them from Hong Kong, a tour leader and a guide on the bus. Metro Manila police chief Leocadio Santiago said the gunman is a former police officer who had been dismissed from the force, and he had demanded to have his name Cleared and be reinstated. A Reuter’s photographer at the scene said he had seen two women leave the bus. Reports say, the road was cordoned off, with the bus isolated inside the park. Nearby construction work was halted and a sizeable crowd has gathered. Several ambulances and a fire engine are on standby about 500 metres away, behind the police line.