President Benigno Aquino III expressed his condolences to the victims and promised a " thorough investigation " . While he was not impressed with the manner the police handled the crisis , he defended the actions of the police , stating that the gunman had not shown any signs of wanting to harm the hostages . He also made reference to the Moscow theater hostage crisis , which he said resulted in " more severe " casualties despite Russia 's " resources and sophistication " . In addition , he declared that the news media may have worsened the situation by giving the shooter " a bird 's - eye view of the entire situation "
Moscow theater hostage crisis
Moscow theater hostage crisis
Manila hostage crisis