Manila airport siege ends, two dead

Published November 8, 2003

MANILA, Nov 7: Philippine security forces ended a siege at the control tower of Manila’s airport by killing a former aviation chief and one of his men, airport officials said on Late Friday night.

“It’s over,” Edgardo Manda, general manager of Ninoy Aquino International Airport, told reporters. “We can now receive international flights.”

Panfilo Villaruel, a former pilot and air force officer, entered the tower just before midnight on Friday with bodyguards and told employees to leave, aviation officials and a senior security official at the airport told Reuters.

Opinion

Editorial

Doctor attacked
09 Jun, 2026

Doctor attacked

AN act of reprehensible violence has shaken the medical community. On Saturday, an employee of the Provincial Civil...
AJK flare-up
Updated 09 Jun, 2026

AJK flare-up

The situation started deteriorating after a trader affiliated with the JAAC was reportedly shot in an altercation with law-enforcers.
Fault lines
09 Jun, 2026

Fault lines

THE April 8 ceasefire that halted hostilities between Israel and Iran has encountered its most serious test yet....
Soft on traders
08 Jun, 2026

Soft on traders

THE Fixed Tax Asaan Scheme for traders with an annual turnover of up to Rs200m has been designed as a ‘pragmatic...
Ceasefire in name
Updated 08 Jun, 2026

Ceasefire in name

Both sides accuse the other of violating the truce that was supposed to halt the conflict in April, yet neither appears willing to abandon negotiations altogether.
Damaged childhoods
08 Jun, 2026

Damaged childhoods

CHILD abuse is so prevalent that the UN ranked Pakistan as the least safe country for children. Even so, more than...