No HK apology, just regret – Almendras

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine government did not issue an apology to Hong Kong over the Rizal Park hostage crisis in 2010 that left eight tourists dead, a Malacañang official said yesterday.

Secretary to the Cabinet Jose Rene Almendras said this was in line and consistent with the instructions of President Aquino, who from the start refused to extend apologies over the tragic incident.

Almendras said Hong Kong’s lifting of its travel sanctions against Filipino public officials was actually a product of continued dialogues between the two parties that started in the October 2013 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bali, Indonesia.

Almendras said the letter signed by Philippine National Police chief Director General Alan Purisima was carefully crafted, with the help of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and Palace Undersecretary Manolo Quezon III, among others.

One crucial phrase the Aquino administration used was “sorrowful regret and sympathy,” which obviously satisfied the most vocal among Hong Kong lawmakers who stood beside Chief Executive CY Leung in Wednesday’s press conference.

“He said the term ‘sorrowful regret and sympathy’ he deemed already as (more) acceptable than the original one. So that is the word that was used,” Almendras said, referring to Leung.

“If you take the words in a technical context they may not be enough but if you put them in the perspective of all the other things that happened, that’s how it became more acceptable,” he said.

Almendras said there was one reporter from Hong Kong who remarked that it was not an apology but was prevailed upon after learning that the family of the victims had accepted it.

He nonetheless issued a verbal apology, with the reminder that a national apology is farfetched. “I issued the apology. I explained to them the complex nature of a national apology and an apology from the President. We discussed many options,” he related.

“Did I apologize for President Aquino? I did not say anything to that effect but I expressed certain emotions and certain things relative to that but it was not an outright (apology)… I have no authority to say: I am sorry in behalf of the Republic of the Philippines,” he said.

Almendras also thanked former president and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada for helping the national government arrive at a mutually acceptable solution to the issue that has continued to strain diplomatic relations.

Emotions of the 21 different families have been very challenging, according to Almendras, because dealing with all of them was in itself very stressful, aside from the fact that they were in discussions with Hong Kong officials.

Almendras refused to say how much the Philippine government gave to each of the families, noting that not all of them accepted the “token of solidarity” they gave since they know too well that no amount of money can be equivalent to a human life.

He also justified the government’s decision to keep the negotiations under wraps for several months so as not to ignite further the emotions and sentiments of the victims.

“It is therefore very important that we did not speak too much out of respect for the sensitivity of the families and this is why we could not say anything to anyone until such time,” Almendras said.

Estrada, for his part, said he had a very long meeting all afternoon with Hong Kong officials.

“I guess we were just lucky,” he said.

“Not only bilateral ties with Hong Kong were restored but also our trade and business relations resume to full blast again,” Estrada said

He said the Manila city government and the Philippines did not spend a single centavo to compensate the victims.

“Not a single cent from state funds of the national government nor from the coffers of the city government of Manila. It’s all private donations that we gave to the victims,” Estrada said.

Lawmakers hailed Estrada for his initiative to extend apologies to the families of the victims in Hong Kong.

They also welcomed the lifting of travel sanctions by Hong Kong.

Albay Rep. Al Francis Bichara said the lifting of sanctions would mean relief for Filipinos working in Hong Kong even if they are not officially covered by actions against the Philippines prior to the apology.

Valenzuela Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian said it was “plain and simple classic diplomacy” that finally put to bed the bitter row between the Philippines and Hong Kong.

“The initiative and joint effort of the Philippine mission is unprecedented and laudable. We have to credit the classic diplomacy that Mayor Estrada and Secretary Almendras engaged in consciously fulfilling the conditions that Hong Kong and the families of the victims were seeking to achieve an equilibrium in pursuing goodwill,” Gatchalian said.

He said Estrada – being a former Philippine president – was able to find common ground when he brought with him a national-level official to Hong Kong to personally apologize and extend their “sorrowful regret” to the families of the victims and the Hong Kong government. – Paolo Romero, Jose Rodel Clapano