He won’t push his luck. *”After Hong Kong’s response to its negotiation with his emissary, Councilor Bernie Ang, over the 2010 bus hostage crisis, former President and current Manila Mayor Joseph ‘Erap’ Estrada believes more time is needed in coordinating with Hong Kong authorities,” reports ABS-CBN News correspondent Zyann Ambrosio.
According to the report, Hong Kong “has threatened to impose unspecified economic sanctions on the Philippines if substantial progress was not made within a month in talks demanding Manila’s apology and compensation the hostage tragedy.” President Noynoy Aquino has maintained the stance that the Philippines must not be made to apologize for the actions of hostage taker Rolando Mendoza. The incident had left eight Hong Kong tourists dead.
Estrada originally hoped to meet with Hong Kong officials either on the last week of November or the first week of December so he could personally hand his formal letter of apology to them even if the hostage tragedy didn’t happen during his watch. Alfredo Lim had been the mayor of Manila in 2010.
Estrada wants to do the gesture so that Hong Kong tourists would once again visit Manila. He also says he feels that an apology would mean well for the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Hong Kong.
Photo from Joseph Estrada’s Twitter account
