By Jhon Aldrin Casinas
As the hostage drama at a shopping center in San Juan City unfolded, Police Col. Orlando Yebra led the negotiations Monday for the surrender of the armed hostage-taker and the safe release of dozens of hostages.
Hostage taker and former security Archie Paray comes out along with the mall staff he held hostage for 10 hours after agreed to end the fiasco in Greenhills, San Juan City on Monday. (ALVIN KASIBAN / MANILA BULLETIN)
Fate might have played some tricks on Yebra, who is now the deputy district director for administration of Eastern Police District (EPD), as he once again led the negotiations of a yet another widely-covered hostage crisis.
San Juan City is in the EPD’s area of responsibility.
It was Yebra, who was then a police superintendent assigned to the Manila Police District (MPD), who stood as the chief negotiator during the tragic Manila bus hostage crisis almost a decade ago.
The hostage crisis ultimately led to the death of nine people—including hostage-taker former Police Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza—inside a hijacked bus parked in front of the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park.
Police, government officials, as well as the media who covered the hostage crisis at that time were criticized for handling the situation, which also led to a Senate inquiry.
The National Police Commission (Napolcom) in 2014 found Yebra guilty of gross incompetence and demoted him one rank as a penalty following the outcome of the hostage crisis, according to media reports.
Yebra has reportedly acknowledged his failure during the negotiation with the disgruntled police officer for his surrender and the release of the hostages.
“Sa amin, namatayan ka isa diyan, hindi mo mapa-surrender, hindi ma-release ang mga hostages, it’s a failure for us -- how much more marami namatay?” Yebra said in an interview with Failon Ngayon, in a 2010 report of ABS-CBN News.
(For us, if one dies, you can’t make the hostage-taker surrender, the hostages can’t be released, it’s a failure for us – how much more when many die?)
In an unprecedented move in 2018, President Duterte made a public apology in Hong Kong for the hostage crisis that took place on Aug. 23, 2010 and killed eight Hong Kong tourists.
The outcome of Monday’s hostage drama, however, was far different from the tragic outcome of the hostage crisis in 2010.
All of Paray’s hostages were released, although security guard Ronald Beleta sustained gunshot wounds after Paray reportedly shot him twice in the body. He is now in stable condition.
In a press briefing Tuesday, Metro Manila Police chief Maj. Gen. Debold Sinas said Paray took hostage 55 individuals. He said some of the hostages hid inside the bathroom and under tables.
READ MORE: Disgruntled security guard holds 30 persons hostage in San Juan mall, guard wounded
On the other hand, San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora stressed that what should be noted about the hostage incident was that no one was killed and all hostages were rescued.
The 40-year-old former security guard of Safeguard Armor Security Corporation (SASCOR), who police said was sacked after going on an absence without leave (AWOL), walked right into the administration office of Greenhills Shopping Center in San Juan City at around 11 a.m., according to a police report.
After being encouraged to surrender, Paray exited the establishment without handcuffs and was even given the chance to air his grievances in front of the press, local government officials, policemen, security officials of the shopping mall, and civilian onlookers.
Most of the people witnessing his surrender, however, were not informed that Paray was armed with a pistol. Only the people briefed on the negotiations had knowledge that the hostage-taker was allowed to carry his gun.
According to authorities, they allowed Paray to carry his gun as an assurance of his safety, and for him to agree to release his hostages.
READ MORE: San Juan hostage-taker took up the cudgels for fellow security guards