Saying sorry

Elton John once said, “sorry seems to be the hardest word.” Nearly three and a half years have passed since dismissed policeman Rolando Mendoza hijacked a bus of 22 Hong Kong tourists and three Filipinos and held them hostage in Luneta. Unfortunately, our local SWAT team (Manila’s finest?) bungled the rescue attempt during an 11 hour standoff, resulting in the death of eight Hong Kong nationals and the wounding of seven others. Admittedly, it was a fiasco. And to make matters worse, the entire episode was broadcasted live on television and radio.

Since then, the President and other senior officials have formally and informally expressed deep regret over the incident and heartfelt condolences to the victims and their families. Former President and incumbent Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada has also profusely apologized. He stated that the National Government had nothing to do with the failed attempt to peacefully end the hostage crisis. In his words, “it was the fault of the past administration, the local government of Manila… It’s the fault of the local official, not the President. The President need not apologize.” The late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo had already found the former Mayor guilty of neglect in the handling of the 2010 hostage crisis. The Manila City Council had passed a resolution apologizing to the Hong Kong Government.

Cabinet Secretary Rene Almendras was dispatched to Hong Kong not only to personally condole with the families of the victims but to provide generous financial assistance as well.

Yet Hong Kong officials are not appeased. Probably encouraged by the bosses in Beijing, they recently announced that Philippine officials will no longer enjoy the privilege of staying in Hong Kong for 14 days without a visa. In truth, this is a symbolic sanction will only affect roughly 700 to 800 Filipinos (and who possess regular passports anyway). However, there are reports circulating that Hong Kong authorities may change the visa-free rule for tourists as well and require every Filipino to obtain a visa to visit the crown colony.

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So should the Philippines still provide an official apology?

When an individual commits a wrong, even unintentionally, he or she is generally expected to apologize. And depending on the extent of the harm inflicted, saying sorry must be accompanied by some form of restitution.

But when one is acting as leader, and that of a sovereign state for that matter, the situation is different. Since a Head of State speaks for the country and the entire citizenry, an apology would have broad, political implications.

In this instance, my four centavos is that the need for an official apology should be framed by the following: 1) whether state officials were involved; and 2) whether acts were committed with malicious intent or through negligence.

Indeed, the police assigned to deal with their emotionally unstable colleague may not have been up to the task but it has not been shown that they acted with evident bad faith either. This case should be differentiated with the shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman by the Philippine Coast Guard last May 2013. In that case, the President was quick and forthcoming with an apology. So why the current reluctance? The main difference between the two cases is that one involves what criminal law terms as dolo while the other involves culpa. When the PCG opened fire on the Taiwanese vessel, that was a clear act of dolo or “criminal intent.” There was malice aforethought as common law jurists would call it. However, the Mendoza crisis was bungled due to negligence or culpa, not malice. The deaths of the tourists was accidental, not deliberate.

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And let’s examine the flipside. In 2005, newly retired Shell executive Emmanuel Madrigal and his daughter Regina Mia were touring Beijing when they were suddenly stabbed to death by a Chinese man. More recently, in October 2013, Filipina doctor Lina Bunyi was killed by a wayward car that ploughed into a crowd at Tiananmen Square. Did the Chinese government issue any apology for these incidents? Did they provide compensation for the victims’ families?

And what about the domestic workers residing in Hong Kong? According to data gathered by the Mission for Migrant Workers, which surveyed more than 3,000 women last year, 58 percent had faced verbal abuse, 18 per cent physical abuse and 6 percent sexual abuse. And this may only represent the tip of the iceberg as many victims are believed to be too scared or ill-informed to come forward. This led Jason Ng to write a provocative article in the 23 January 2014 edition of South China Morning Post on why the Hong Kong government should apologize for the plight of abused domestic workers.

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But who stands to lose more anyway? Filipinos currently make up roughly 1.9 percent of the Hong Kong population (mostly working as domestic helpers). Their presence not only makes the home lives of their employers easier, it also enables both spouses to seek gainful employment. I am sure that their absence will make the Hong Kong middle class and foreign expatriates unhappy.

Moreover, Hong Kong makes more money from Filipino tourists than the Philippines makes from their Hong Kong counterparts. While a few flying hours further off, Singapore, Thailand and Japan stand to be the beneficiaries as they present comparable tourist attractions and benefits.

So Hong Kong authorities should carefully consider the consequences before escalating the matter further. As stated earlier, our leaders have not only expressed sincere regret, they have also provided substantial remuneration to the victims and their families. Coercing an official apology will not bring the latter closure. Only time and justice can do that.

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Greetings: 54th birth anniversary best wishes today to our country’s chief executive, P-Noy. Apologies for the informality, but my four centavo wish is that our Lord continue to guide and inspire him as he steers the country towards the path of righteousness and truth.

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“Right actions in the future are the best apologies for bad actions in the past.” —Tryon Edwards

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