HONG KONG: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday (Apr 12) formally apologised over the deaths of eight Hong Kong tourists in a 2010 Manila hostage crisis that soured ties with the Chinese territory. The incident happened under previous president Benigno Aquino who had rejected Hong Kong’s demands for an
HONG KONG: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday (Apr 12) formally apologised over the deaths of eight Hong Kong tourists in a 2010 Manila hostage crisis that soured ties with the Chinese territory.
The incident happened under previous president Benigno Aquino who had rejected Hong Kong’s demands for an apology because he said the hijacker caused the crisis.
However Duterte on Thursday said an apology to « the Chinese government and the people of China » was « only right » and necessary.
« From the bottom of my heart as the president of the Republic of the Philippines and in behalf of the people of the Philippines, may I apologise formally to you now, » Duterte said in a speech before the Filipino community in Hong Kong.
« We are sorry that the incident happened and as humanly possible, I would like to make this guarantee also that it will never, never happen again.
