Manila vice-mayor sad over Hong Kong's treatment after hostage tragedy
Politician feels he deserves gratitude of Hong Kong for saving eight lives in bus crisis
Manila Vice-Mayor Francisco Domagoso has expressed sadness over the way Hong Kong has treated him in the aftermath of the botched bus hostage rescue three years ago.
"Just between us, don't I deserve a 'thank you' by saving eight lives?" Domagoso asked the .
He disclosed for the first time that he - and not Manila's mayor at the time, Alfredo Lim - was calling the shots during the day-long hostage-taking of a tourist bus by dismissed police officer Rolando Mendoza.
"From morning to 6pm [of August 23, 2010] I was the one handling the entire incident. During the daytime I was the highest civilian authority … not mayor Lim, at that time. When Mendoza asked for food and gas, I asked for hostages in return," Domagoso said.
"The Chinese embassy gave me a specific request - the old man, 80 years old. I got the old man. He was released.
"When you look at the timeline, I've been saving lives."
And yet, he said, Hong Kong sent him an "invitation" to appear and answer questions after the Incident Investigation Review Committee found him liable for simple negligence for abandoning his post "at the height of the hostage crisis".
