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MANILA, Philippines?The 15 day deadline set by the Philippines to wrap up its probe into the Quirino Grandstand hostage crisis is reasonable, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Liu Jianchao said Thursday.
This as Liu said China was expecting ?a through and fair investigation? into the 12-hour hostage-taking that left eight Hong Kong tourists killed on August 23.
In his visit to the Department of Justice (DoJ), Liu said ?we will rely and wait for the deadline set? by the Incident Investigation Review Committee.
?It is only a 15 day deadline. We think it is reasonable,? Liu said, as he added: ?We expect a thorough and fair investigation of the Philippine authorities.?
The Chinese ambassador refused to comment on reports that Hong Kong officials were unhappy with the investigation being conducted by the Philippine authorities.
Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said the meeting was cordial.
?His calmness and integrity is needed in this situation,? De Lima said.
She said two survivors have already agreed to be interviewed by Philippine authorities to shed light on the bus seige, which has strained Manila?s relations with Hong Kong.
?What we want to know is what happened especially on the critical hours when (hostage taker Rolando) Mendoza started acting wrongly,? De Lima said.
Justice Undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar was already making arrangements for a possible trip of two National Bureau of Investigation agents and a DoJ prosecutor.
But De Lima said if the two survivors already have a prepared affidavit and that there are no inconsistencies, they could forego the Hong Kong trip.
