The claim was made by Hong Kong Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok, Radio Television Hong Kong reported on Saturday.
Lai was quoted in the report as saying the Hong Kong government’s decision to lower the alert level from black (severe threat) to amber (signs of threat) stemmed not from the Philippine officials’ expressions of regret and solidarity but from the monitoring of the situation in the Philippines.
“Mr. Lai said the situation in the Philippines had been closely monitored since the incident, and the government had taken note of improvements in safety,” the RTHK report said.
On the other hand, the RTHK report quoted Lai as saying the Outbound Travel Alert could still be completely removed, or even raised back to Black, “depending on the circumstances.”
Earlier this week, the Philippine government expressed its “most sorrowful regret and profound sympathy” for the Aug. 23, 2010 hostage incident where eight Hong Kong tourists were killed.
In the incident, a dismissed policeman took hostage a busload of tourists to demand his reinstatement. The policeman and the eight tourists were killed in a botched police operation.
On Wednesday, the Hong Kong government said it was lowering the outbound travel alert to amber.
Hong Kong also reinstated the visa-free privileges for Philippine government officials visiting Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, a report on Hong Kong’s The Standard said Lai admitted there could have been a second round of sanctions if the negotiations between the Philippines and Hong Kong collapsed.
But the report said Lai would not say if this involved Filipino domestic helpers. — Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News
