It seems that the goal of San Juan hostage-taker Archie Paray to be heard is going to happen anytime soon.
The House of Representatives’ Committee on Labor and Employment is set to conduct an inquiry on March 10 to discuss the complaints of Paray who victimized more than 50 employees of a mall in San Juan.
1PACMAN Party-list Rep. Eric Pineda said that they’re not trying to glorify the actions of Paray, but his complaints must be investigated.
Pineda cited that the former security guard refused the 1-M pesos offer by his former employer and instead demanded to talk to the media because he wanted to reveal the issues of his former company.
“I do not condone his actions – endangering lives and violating public order and safety laws. However, there may have been compelling reasons as to why Mr. Paray took such desperate actions, and it’s a matter we should look into,” Pineda said in a statement.
“Mr. Paray never demanded money. His demand was that he wanted to be heard and explain his side. He claimed incompetence, negligence, and corruption. He cited unjust working conditions and employment security since he was allegedly dismissed by his employer. His statement resonated clearly and was heard here at Congress,” Pineda added.
“He claimed incompetence, negligence, and corruption. He cited unjust working conditions and employment security since he was allegedly dismissed by his employer. His statement resonated clearly and was heard here at Congress,” he also said.
According to the lawmaker, he wanted to ensure that the security guards are also going to feel “secure” in their employment.
“How can we expect a security guard to perform his task to secure the safety of the areas assigned to him if he himself does not feel secure in terms of his employment? I find it ironic and unacceptable,” he said.
Paray captured the attention of the netizens and called him a ‘real-life joker’ for doing an extreme act just to raise the corruption issues of his former company.
The former security guard claimed that some of his superiors are illegally asking P5,000 from the mall tenants.
He also claimed that he was kicked out of his job just because he’s only implementing the “No ID, No Entry’ policy for tenants and employees.
The tenant that he allegedly blocked from entering the mall warned him that his days as a security guard are numbered.
A former colleague of Paray said that the hostage-taking would have not happened if the management of the mall treated them fairly.
“Nauunawaan namin siya. Matagal na siya dito at marami na rin siyang nakitang pang-aabuso, siya mismo nabiktima,” one of the security guards who work at the mall told Manila Bulletin.
“Wala kaming reklamo sa agency namin, wala rin kaming reklamo sa sahod kasi patas naman. Ang sa amin lang dito ay yung due process. Dapat kapag paparusahan kami, ipakita sa amin kung bakit at ipakita sa amin na dumaan kami sa tamang proseso hindi yung basta-basta na lang kami paparusahan na hindi namin alam ang dahilan,” another security guard said.