Miriam files resolution on HK leader's 'unnecessary' actions

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago has filed a resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the actions of Hong Kong’s chief executive were unnecessary and that he overstepped protocol during the Aug. 23 hostage incident.

The hostage crisis should be settled under international law without need of provocative statements from a Hong Kong official, she said.

Santiago accused yesterday Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang of overstepping protocol when he insisted on speaking with President Aquino at the height of the hostage crisis.

“The head of a mere administrative region in China overstepped protocol by insisting that his telephone call and his letter should be received directly by the President of the Philippines, when those communications should have been directed to the secretary of foreign affairs of the Philippines,” she said.

In her resolution, Santiago said the state is responsible for the acts of its officials if they fail to protect the rights of people and to perform certain duties of the state.

She also cited the doctrine of exhaustion of local remedies, which provides that before international proceedings can be instituted, local remedies should first be exhausted, normally by going through the Philippine judicial system.

While almost all of the hostages were Chinese nationals, Filipino local authorities have taken the lead in investigating the incident.

Authorities from Hong Kong were allowed to participate in the investigation but primarily as observers.

The letter from “an official of the government of Hong Kong” came after the incident and was revealed by Mr. Aquino to the media in a recent interview.

Mr. Aquino described the letter as insulting and that “we were being told, in very minute detail, what we were supposed to do.”

While Mr. Aquino did not identify the letter sender, Tsang admitted recently that he wrote him in “a polite and respectful manner.”

Rodriguez brothers:

Congress must probe ‘insulting letter’

Two lawmakers called yesterday for a congressional inquiry into the insulting letter President Aquino received from the Hong Kong government in the aftermath of the hostage crisis last Aug. 23.

Representatives Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro and Maximo Rodriguez of Abante Mindanao said an insult to the Philippine president is an insult to the Filipino people.

“We should never allow this to pass without protesting said insult so that this may never happen again,” Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said.

 “There is a need to uphold the dignity of the highest office of our land; that our President, as our chief executive and head of state should not be bullied by any other foreign authority.” – With Paolo Romero