Manila mayor to apologize for HK hostage crisis

The mayor of Manila, the Philippine capital, will formally apologize over the deaths of eight Hong Kong tourists in 2010, but President Benigno Aquino (left) has consistently refused to make a formal apology on behalf of the national government. (Ted Aljibe / Agence France-Presse)

The City Council of Manila, part of the capital region in the Philippines, has passed a resolution taking it upon the city government to apologize to the people of Hong Kong for the 2010 Hong Kong hostage crisis, local media reported.

The council members expressed hope that the formal apology from the city, to be hand-carried by former President and now Mayor of Manila Joseph Estrada himself, will put closure to the hostage crisis which led to the death of eight Hong Kong people, Interaksyon reported Tuesday on its website.

The council resolution expresses "the sentiment of the city government of Manila in their sincerest effort to apologize to the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the family of the victims of the Rizal Park hostage- taking incident that occurred on Aug. 23, 2010 within the territorial jurisdiction of the city of Manila."

The resolution noted that even though the incident happened before his watch, Mayor Estrada fully appreciates the importance of maintaining good relations with neighbors, by, among others, assuming accountability for a matter as serious as this, the report said.

The botched rescue of the tourists, held for nearly 12 hours in a bus hijacked by dismissed police officer Rolando Mendoza, happened during the term of Mayor Alfredo Lim, a close political ally of President Benigno Aquino III.

But, Aquino refused to apologize for the 2010 Manila hostage tragedy earlier this month on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Bali, Indonesia.

"In our culture when we apologize, we were admitting that we are at fault as a country, as a government, and as a people. And we pointed out that, from our perspective, there was one lone gunman responsible for this tragedy," Aquino said.

"We cannot admit wrongdoing if it's not ours. But we do extend our sincerest condolences," he said.