Gamboa praises NCRPO in handling San Juan hostage situation

March 3, 2020

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Archie Francisco Gamboa on Tuesday lauded the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) for effectively managing the hostage situation in San Juan. 

Gamboa, during a press conference, said he was generally satisfied about how the hostage-taking crisis inside the V-Mall in Greenhills was handled by the authorities. 

"Generally I am satisfied because nobody died which is the most important thing," he said. 

Former V-Mall security guard Archie Paray entered and fired shots inside the mall around 10 am on Monday. He held captive around 30 people until he surrendered to Sna Juan City Mayo Francis Zamora after negotiations. 

The crisis lasted for ten hours. One security guard was injured after sustaining gunshot wounds. 

According to Gamboa, the responding police personnel took care of the situation properly. 

"What the NCRPO did was correct because that kind of situation is multi-faceted," he said.

"When there is a hostage crisis, usually if it is man-inflicted or man-made, the first thing the police should do is to identify the negotiator. Second is to come up with a crisis management committee," he explained. 

Gamboa said the local chief executive should lead in negotiating during such crisis management. The police or military will only be summoned as "last option," he said. Cristina Eloisa Baclig/DMS