Duterte apologises to Hong Kong victims of Manila hostage tragedy
Philippine president takes city by complete surprise, offering apology and upending his predecessor’s refusal to accept blame for botched rescue
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte took Hong Kong by complete surprise on Thursday, making a full public apology for the Manila bus hostage crisis that left nine people dead nearly eight years ago.
“For the first time – the Chinese government and the people of China have already been waiting for this – there has been no official apology coming from the Filipinos regarding what happened in August 2010,” Duterte told a gathering of the city’s Filipino residents.
“May I address the Chinese people who are here. From the bottom of my heart, as president of the Republic of the Philippines, and on behalf of the people of the Philippines, may I apologise and say sorry that the incident happened and as humanly possible I would like to make this guarantee – it will never happen again.”
From the bottom of my heart ... may I apologise and say sorry that the incident happened
The apology drew wild applause from the 2,500-strong crowd at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal.
Former president Benigno Aquino had frequently refused to apologise for the handling of the crisis.
An official statement of “most sorrowful regret and profound sympathy” was the best the victims’ families could get during his presidency.
Duterte, on a three-day visit to Hong Kong, said he hoped his apology would “go a long way to really assuage the feelings of the Chinese government and people”.
He said it was “only right” to apologise. “What is really needed is just to say we are very sorry, we apologise.”
