The hostage-takers of 30 schoolchildren and four teachers on board a bus in downtown Manila Wednesday released one child after keeping his hostages for four hours, local television footage showed.

The child was said to be suffering from a fever, reported television ABS-CBN News, which expects more children to be released soon.

They were kidnapped by two armed men near the Manila City Hall on an excursion tour to the volcano lake resort town of Tagaytay, 50 kilometers south of Manila.

The hostage takers posted a large sheet of paper on the front window of the air-conditioned bus, demanding free education for 145 children in a day-care center, an equivalent of kindergarten in poor neighborhoods here.

Officials of Manila City are now talking to the hostage-takers who are also inside the bus and officials of the Department of Education were reportedly on their way to talk to the hostage-takers.

The bus driver who was forced out of the bus said the hostage-takers "appeared fully prepared" for their action.

The bus was surrounded by members of the Philippine National Police's Special Weapons and Tactics team at the Bonifacio shrine near the Manila City Hall compound, where traffic has been sealed off and the surrounding roads were blocked by vehicles.

Police were tipped off that an ongoing robbery was taking place at around 9:30 AM local time (01:30 GMT) and an alert was issued to their mobile units.

It is not known whether the hostage-taking has anything to do with the race for Manila mayor with two candidates competing for the seat in the May 14 poll.

(Xinhua News Agency March 28, 2007)