A STUDENT held hostage a staff member of the Navotas Polytechnic College (NPC) for more than five hours yesterday over problems on his school records.

The incident ended peacefully when Esmeraldo Yarcia III, 22, of Lot 60, Blk. 56, Phase 2, Sinilyasi St., Bgy. 8, Caloocan City, surrendered through the intervention of his friends from the Tau Gamma fraternity.

Navotas City deputy chief of police Supt. Antonio Militar,  Rep. Toby Tiangco, his brother Mayor John Rey Tiangco and Vice Mayor PJ Javier facilitated Yarcia’s yielding.

Mayor Tiangco said Amy Perez (namesake of popular TV host and actress), 30, assistant at the College Police Administration Office (CAC) of NPC was unhurt when Yarcia released her at 1 p.m. yesterday.

Yarcia also held captive a student assistant but he freed her after.

Police said the suspect arrived in NPC campus located on Bangus St. corner Apahap St., Bgy. North Bay Boulevard South (NBBS) about 8 a.m. without any clear reason.

After a few minutes, Yarcia pulled a pair of scissors and held Perez and the student assistant hostage.

During negotiation, Yarcia told Cong. Tiangco that he had no problem with the NPC and his depression stemmed from his problem with the Isabela State University (ISU) where he intends to transfer.

He took up computer secretarial course at the NPC and afterwards studied at the University of Caloocan City in 2010 for one semester and shifted to political science.

“He was really depressed because the ISU is giving him a hard time. It just happened that he landed in NPC and from there, the misfortune happened next,” Tiangco said.

At first, nobody succeeded to convince Yarcia to release his hostage and surrender, not even his landlady who arrived at the scene and handed him her cellular phone so he could talk to his father who is in Isabela.

He asked for members of media to air his sentiments but the negotiating team turned it down.

Tiangco disclosed that during the hostage-taking incident, Yarcia treated Perez properly and even asked her if she was already hungry.

“He had no intention to hurt Perez. He was just depressed at that time,” he added.

Yarcia’s mind eventually changed when his fellow Tau Gamma fraternity brothers arrived and convinced him to peacefully surrender.

Appropriate charges will be pressed against Yarcia.    Mia B. Billones