China's Ambassador Liu Jianchao met with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Thursday and discussed the Philippine government's investigation into the August 23 hostage tragedy that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead.
Liu said he and De Lima talked about the "mutual respect" between the two nations amid the global backlash against Philippine law enforcement authorities for their bungled hostage rescue operations.
"We talked about the incident and also the investigation. (De Lima) briefed me on the process and the development. We agree that so far, the Hong Kong police and the Chinese side, and also the Philippine side are having good cooperation in the spirit of mutual respect," Liu told reporters after the meeting.
"We're expecting the investigation to go smoothly. We expect a report that is fair, thorough and complete," he added.
De Lima chairs the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC), which is set to hold on Friday its clarificatory questioning for persons that had key roles in handling the hostage drama last week.
The committee's other members are: Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo as vice chair; Teresita Ang-See, chairperson of the Citizens Action Against Crime, representing the Filipino-Chinese community; Herman Basbaño, president of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas, representing the media; and Roan Libarios, governor of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines Eastern Mindanao, representing legal luminaries.
The proceedings will also be held on Saturday and Monday next week.
Re-eneactment
Earlier in the day, De Lima said the IIRC will go to Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City on Monday. The ill-fated Hong Thai Travel tourist bus is housed at the police camp.
Dismissed policeman Rolando Mendoza hijacked the bus in Intramuros, Manila and later commandeered it to the Quirino Grandstand, where the bloodbath occured. Mendoza was later killed by a government sniper.
"When we question the bus driver, we might do that ocular inspection for the purposes of reenactment. So that is set for Monday," said De Lima, referring to the clarificatory questioning for bus driver Alberto Lubang.
HK survivors
She likewise said two Hong Kong survivors have agreed to be interviewed by Philippine investigators. De Lima added that Justice Undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar is in charge of making arrangements for the departure of two National Bureau of Investigation agents and a DOJ special prosecutor.
"We understand that there are two survivors who are now willing to be interviewed by investigators. We're making arrangements," she said.
"If they (survivors) have prepared statements already to the Hong Kong investigators, and if we see that the accounts are clear enough and there are no inconsistenciees, we can probably dispense with that trip (of Philippine investigators)," she added. — RSJ
