Why Noynoy will never apologize

China can keep demanding for an apology from Noynoy Aquino until the century egg turns white, but there is no way the Philippine president is ever going to issue one, not even if he wanted to. Otherwise, he will be held personally liable for the 2010 fiasco instead of the persons found liable after an investigation.

On August 23 of that year, a crazed police officer held several Hong Kong tourists hostage in a bus at the Luneta. In the ensuing rescue attempt by a hapless team of policemen, shown worldwide live on tv, eight of the hostages were killed.

But that is putting the cart before the horse. Prior to the gruesome resolution of the incident, as the events slowly unwound on television, it was reported that the president was on top of the situation, that he was monitoring everything from some undisclosed location.

Apparently, some Malacañang bright boys, whose job it is to make the president look good at every opportunity, thought it might be worth a few pogi points if the public learned that the president was on top of the situation and was monitoring everything.

What the bright boys failed to consider is the fact that in a situation where the president is on top of the situation and is monitoring everything, he is in fact in charge of the whole operation. You cannot have a situation that has the top dog listening and just allowing things to unravel without interjecting.

In other words, with the president being appraised to the minute about the situation on the ground as it unfolded, he was actually exercising his duties and prerogatives as de facto commander-in-chief. There was nothing that could have gone on without his approval, or at least his agreement.

Had things not turned out the way they did, and the rescue was successful and without any casualties on the part of the hostages, the search for heroes would have been short and sweet. Noynoy would have emerged from where he had been holed to the acclaim of the nation and the world.

Alas and alack, things went from bad to worse, and when the fingers started pointing everyone started ducking, including the president. Somebody else had to be blamed. And the Palace sidekicks regretted the moment they announced the president was on top of the situation.

This was the reason too why the president set aside the original recommendation of the investigators, because that recommendation would have lumped one of his best friends among the scapegoats, hastily named just to save his skin.

And so another recommendation was hastily drawn up and eventually forgotten. When China started making noise about an apology, the only thing that kept Noynoy from meeting the demand was his own complicity in the events leading to the tragic outcome.

Had a clear culpable authority been found other than himself, I do not think Noynoy would have hesitated to apologize. After all, what is an apology? Noynoy can live with a little charade -- like riding to your oathtaking in the same car with the woman you hate so much it makes your skin crawl.

Having demanded one, China will never know if an apology is sincerely given or not. A demand is an exaction and the premium is therefore in the concession or surrender, not in the substance of a few words. Had Noynoy not been personally encumbered, he could have exhaled a prompt apology with his smoke.

But now that Noynoy has adamantly refused to apologize, then so be it. Let us not be bullied into giving one. Besides, China never had sincere intentions in demanding an apology as a means of restitution. Its only reason for demanding one is to humiliate us. And that is something we must never allow.