Prepared by the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office

The procedure followed in hostage-taking incidents are detailed in the Philippine National Police Manual PNPM-DO-DS-3-1, which is a revised and updated version of the original manual issued in September 2002.  Under the present manual, published in March 2010, the procedures are detailed in Rule 26.

The regulations state that “In negotiating for the release of a hostage, the security of the hostage will always be paramount.” The regulations stipulate that a Crisis Management Task Group be activated immediately, under the leadership of only one Ground Commander, to secure and isolate the incident from unauthorized persons, and to direct witnesses to a safe location and record their names, addresses and other information.

Aside from these procedures, in the case of the hostage-taking incident at the Quirino Grandstand, the Department of Social Welfare and Development has provided stress-debriefing counselors for released hostages, while  the Department of Tourism is attending to their material comfort and well-being.