Aquino glad flap with HK over hostage fiasco is over

President Benigno Aquino III. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Hounded by diplomatic tension with Hong Kong for over two years, President Benigno Aquino III was relieved to put the August 2010 Manila hostage drama that caused the problem finally behind him, Cabinet Secretary Rene Almendras said.

Following months of negotiations, the Philippine and Hong Kong governments resolved the row after the victims’ families accepted Manila’s expression of “sorrowful regret” and an offer of more than P100 million in compensation.

The compensation, described as “tokens of solidarity” and reportedly raised by traders and private individuals, could total HK$20 million (about P115 million), according to a Manila councilor.

“He (the President) sounded very happy when he texted me,” Almendras, the government’s point-man in the negotiations, said in an interview on Thursday after briefing reporters on the agreement.

 One less to worry about

“With all the problems that we have, however small the problem is, if you solve it, it’s one less thing to worry about.”

The administration had been dogged by the Aug. 23, 2010, drama where eight Hong Kong residents were killed in a botched police rescue of a busload of tourists taken hostage by a dismissed Manila policeman. The hostage-taker was killed, and many others were hurt.

It was the first test for the young administration in handling a hostage crisis, and it drew protests from Hong Kong and Beijing.

The agreement restored bilateral relations between Manila and the special administrative region.

It reinstated the 14-day visa-free arrangement for Filipino diplomats and officials, and lifted the “black” travel advisory that warned Hong Kong residents against traveling to the Philippines.

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