Erap, Chinese envoy offer prayers for slain hostages

MANILA, Philippines - Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada and Chinese Consul General Qui Jian joined Chinese monks yesterday in praying for the souls of the eight Hong Kong tourists slain during the Quirino Grandstand hostage crisis.

The tourists were shot dead by a disgruntled policeman following negotiations that lasted at least 10 hours.

Estrada vowed that such incidents would never happen on his watch.

“My policy of maintaining peace and order in the city, above all priorities, remains in force because without peace and order, progress will not filter into the population,” he said.

He said the incident soured relations between Hong Kong and Manila and jeopardized the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in China’s special administrative region after President Aquino refused to apologize for the hostage crisis.

Estrada and Councilor Bernie Ang went to Hong Kong and apologized on behalf of the Philippine government in April 2014.

This gesture prompted China to stop requiring Philippine government officials to secure a visa before they are allowed to enter China and saved the jobs of thousands of OFWs.

Meanwhile, Estrada is set to leave for China on Sunday to be a guest of honor at a ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the victory of the “World Anti-Fascist war and the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese aggression” in Beijing on Sept. 3.