Report: Survivors, victims' kin to testify in HK on Manila hostage tragedy

The survivors and relatives of victims may form the bulk of those who will testify at a Hong Kong Coroner's Court this week as it opens its high-profile hearing into the Manila hostage tragedy on August 23 last year. A report on Radio-Television Hong Kong said this was after most of the 116 witnesses from the Philippines declined the invitation to testify at the hearings. "(It) seems the bulk of the testimony will come from survivors of the tragedy, as well as family members of the victims. Twenty-five days have been set aside for the hearing," the report said. The Hong Kong Coroner's Court has been tasked to determine the cause and circumstances of each victim's death. On February 15, the Hong Kong Coroner’s Court will begin its inquiry to determine whether the eight victims in the tragedy were killed by the hostage-taker or by friendly fire. While an earlier investigation in the Philippines had found that the hostage-taker, dismissed Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza, shot and killed all eight Chinese victims, the Hong Kong inquest intends to reconsider all the available evidence anew. Mendoza was killed along with eight Chinese tourists from Hong Kong after an 11-hour standoff. "One focus will be on whether friendly fire contributed to any of the deaths," the RTHK report said. Last week, some 70 Filipino witnesses declined to take part in the Hong Kong probe, although there is a possibility that some of them may provide evidence through a video link. Last weekend, Malacañang downplayed fears that the refusal of some 70 witnesses to testify in Hong Kong on last year’s Manila hostage crisis may again sour Philippine-Hong Kong ties. Deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said Hong Kong is aware that the witnesses were free to accept or decline the invitations. “Hindi naman po. Alam ng mga representatives from the Coroner’s Office na invitation ito at di pwede talaga i-compel. Malaya mag-decline ang pinadala ng invitation," she said on government-run dzRB radio. (It will not affect Philippine-Hong Kong ties. The representatives from the Hong Kong Coroner’s Office know these are just invitations and that the witnesses cannot be compelled. The invitation means the witness is free to accept or decline it.) She added it was “very clear from the beginning" that the invitations were merely invitations, and that those invited cannot be compelled to testify. Valte said the Philippine government assisted in the Hong Kong investigation by forwarding Hong Kong’s invitations to the people concerned. She added that the Philippine government also sent to Hong Kong the results of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee “in the spirit of cooperation and disclosure." “Magpapadala rin tayo ng isang representative from kung di ako nagkakamali, crime scene investigation, to assist the coroner in making the inquiry," she said. (We will also be sending a representative from the crime scene investigation to assist the coroner in making the inquiry.) – VVP, GMA News