The City of Manila will hold this morning its second Day of Prayer commemorating the August 2010 Rizal Park hostage drama that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead and strained relations between the Philippines and Hong Kong for over three years.
The Christian rites will start 8 a.m. at Quirino Grandstand, with Mayor Joseph Estrada expected to attend together with other city officials and representatives of the Hong Kong government.
The first day of prayer was marked Aug. 9 with Buddhist rituals performed by monks invited from Hong Kong.
On Aug. 23, 2010, a busload of Hong Kong tourists was taken hostage by Rolando Mendoza, a dismissed police officer.
The 10-hour standoff in front of the grandstand ended in carnage following a bungled police rescue operation. Fran Katigbak