Report: Survivors of 2010 Manila hostage crisis seek meet with PNoy

Survivors of last year's Manila bus hostage tragedy sought a meeting with President Benigno Aquino III, a Hong Kong news site reported Sunday. The survivors made the request during a meeting with an official of the Philippine Consulate General, Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) reported. While the RTHK did not give further details, it said the survivors held talks with the Philippines deputy consul general. A check of the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong indicates the deputy consul general is Kira Christianne Danganan-Azucena. It also did not report on the Philippine office's response to the request. The request came a week before the first anniversary of the tragedy where eight Hong Kong tourists and the hostage-taker, dismissed Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza, were killed on Aug. 23, 2010. Mendoza took a busload of tourists hostage to demand his reinstatement in the Philippine National Police. But a botched rescue attempt resulted in the deaths, prompting Hong Kong to issue a "black" travel advisory discouraging it nationals to travel to the Philippines. Last week, two survivors and a relative of a fatality in the hostage crisis sought compensation from the Philippine government. Tourists Chan Kwok-chu and Yik Siu-ling applied for legal aid in an attempt to pursue their claim, RTHK said. Chan and Yik, along with Tse Che-kin – brother of slain tour guide Masa Tse – are planning to go to the Philippines later this month in the hope of meeting Philippine officials. A separate report on Hong Kong’s The Standard on Friday said the three are planning to go to Manila on August 21, two days before the anniversary of the tragedy. The report said the three are hoping to meet officials and the media in their ongoing fight for justice. — LBG, GMA News