bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Phila Siu

After years of strained ties, Hong Kong and Manila have put aside differences arising from the bus hostage crisis of 2010, the top Philippine diplomat in the city says - even though few Hongkongers are visiting the Southeast Asian country.
Consul General Bernardita Catalla said she received a warm reception from Hong Kong officials when she took office in June last year after years of chilly ties amid disputes over the crisis.
"When I called on the chief executive [Leung Chun-ying], he said 'we are starting a new page'. That is a very reassuring message," Catalla told the South China Morning Post. "We have closed the book and started a new page."

Watch: ‘Universal suffrage, democracy, freedom’ is the goal, says Philippine consul general 
The atmosphere was far different after the events of August 2010, when disgruntled former police officer Rolando Mendoza, armed with an M-16 assault rifle, stopped a tour bus with 22 Hongkongers onboard in Manila's Rizal Park.
Mendoza had been honoured as one of the Philippines' top 10 officers in 1986. But in 2008, he was dismissed over alleged drug-related crimes and extortion.
He took the hostages in an attempt to get his job back and clear his name, but he shot dead eight of the Hongkongers before turning the gun on himself as local authorities bungled a rescue attempt.
The Philippine government has consistently refused to offer a formal apology.
Within hours of the shootings, the Hong Kong government had issued a black travel alert, warning against any travel to the Philippines. The fallout only ended in April last year, when the country finally expressed its "most sorrowful regret and profound sympathy" and Hong Kong scrapped the travel warning.

The number of Hong Kong tourists to the Philippines was badly affected, dropping 16 per cent year on year to 112,106 in 2011. It later rose to 126,006 in 2013 but dipped 9.45 per cent to 114,100 last year.
Catalla said it was difficult to fathom the drop for last year, but she was confident that the figure would rebound.
She said Hong Kong tourists should not be worried about safety in the Philippines because action had been taken: for example, special teams of police were deployed at tourism hotspots.
The Philippines is determined to draw more Hong Kong tourists, she said. In June, the consulate organised an event during which it invited around 300 travel agencies to hear about new destinations and hotels in the Philippines.
Hong Kong is home to about 190,000 Filipinos, of whom about 177,000 are domestic helpers.
Catalla said she was aware some Philippine groups want the Hong Kong government to scrap rules they say make domestic workers more vulnerable to exploitation.
They include a rule that helpers who exit their jobs must leave the city within two weeks, as well as a requirement that maids live with their employers.
"In fact, we also raised those issues with the labour commissioner during my first meeting with him. And I also raised it with the chief executive. It is really up to your government to respond to this issue," she said, without revealing her own stance.
"I think they said they will look into it … I have no way of knowing if it is sincere or not. You have your own process here."
Soon after Catalla took up the post in Hong Kong, the consulate formed a working group with the Immigration Department and the Labour Department so all sides can work together if the consulate receives requests for help from Filipino workers.


Outgoing British consul general in Hong Kong warns of national security law ‘stifling dissent’

Hong Kong pro-establishment lawmakers urged not to meet officials from Five Eyes alliance, European countries, amid souring US-China relations

United States condemns Beijing’s new restrictions on American consul general in Hong Kong

Coronavirus gave China the opportunity to make controversial policy moves, experts say

Hong Kong's diplomats

Ties improved after years of tension following Manila hostage crisis, says Philippines' top diplomat in Hong Kong

Bernardita Catalla's priorities include luring back Hong Kong tourists put off by the 2010 hostage crisis. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Bernardita Catalla's priorities include luring back Hong Kong tourists put off by the 2010 hostage crisis.Photo: Jonathan Wong

In this file photo taken on August 23, 2010, Philippine policemen take position as they start their attack on a hijacked tourist bus in Manila. Photo: AFP

Philippine consul in Hong Kong had a front-row seat for the Occupy protests

Philippines' Consul General Bernardita Catalla is impressed as she gestures towards the window which offers panoramic views over Harcourt Road during the occupy Central movement. Photo: Jonathan Wong

An aerial view of the Occupy Movement in Admiralty. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

News

Hong Kong

Politics

In our series on the city's consuls, Bernardita Catalla reveals warm welcome after discord over 2010 tragedy
