Learning the art of when and what to talk about

Like the cancellation of the visits to Vietnam (Sept 13 to 14) and Indonesia (Sept. 14 to 15). Coming from him, the cancellation had a grating effect.

Aquino also said that he is pushing with his scheduled visit to the United States scheduled Sept 18 to 28.

“Canceled na yung trips, the first one will be America,” he said. He will be speaking at the United Nations and will be witnessing the signing of the Millenium Challange Corporation’s $434-million grant. Other activities have been lined up for him during his U.S visit.

By making the United States his first foreign visit, Aquino breaks the tradition among Southeast Asian leaders to take his first foreign visit to any of the fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Vietnam was chosen because it is the current chair of Asean and Indonesia because it will take over the chairmanship from Vietnam for 2011. By the way, President Cory’s first foreign visit in 1986 was to Indonesia.

There’s no law that punishes those who veer away from traditional practice. But tradition is what holds people with common aspirations together. There’s also common sense in the tradition of visiting a neighbor first before going to a distant ally.

I know that Aquino is so desperate for stories to obscure the August 23 hostage fiasco but did it have to be him telling the media about it? Aside from his spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, he has two communications chiefs, Sonny Coloma and Ricky Carandang. The Department of Foreign Affairs also has Spokesperson Ed Malaya who could have done better in announcing the cancellation.

After Aquino made the announcement, the DFA had to issue this official announcement:” After prior notification to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Republic of Indonesia, the State Visits of President Benigno S. Aquino III to Hanoi and Jakarta are deferred.

“President Aquino looks forward to visiting both capitals at a more propitious and mutually convenient time, to discuss bilateral issues towards further enhancing Philippine relations with Vietnam and Indonesia, respectively. “

Foreign Affairs sources said they sent a note verbale to the governments of Indonesia and Vietnam during the weekend after Malacañang made the decision last Friday.

So be it. The visits to Indonesia and Vietnam are cancelled. But Aquino had to talk more about it which revealed something’s amiss in his office.

He said “”Yung Indonesia, I understand, can only accommodate us sometime in October.” He added that anyway he will be meeting Indonesia president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vietnam president Nguyen Minh Triet for an Asean leaders side meeting in New York.

A DFA source said “I think the President is misinformed because Indonesia has not declined the Sept. 14 and 15 visit. In fact it was still being arranged until he canceled it .”

As to the Vietnam visit, in my talk with Communications Secretary Ricky Carandang about two weeks ago, he explained that Aquino, in consonance with his austerity program, has informed the DFA that he would rather make the state visit immediately after the Asean summit last week of October so that he did not have to make two trips to one country in one month.

It makes sense. Was that conveyed to the DFA? If that was conveyed, there would not have been any preparation for a Sept. 13 and 14 visit. And therefore, there would not have been any need to cancel anything. What cancellation then was Aquino announcing?

That’s why it would have been better that somebody familiar with foreign relations and preparations for the visits made the announcement.
It’s clear that foreign relations is not Aquino’s strong points and he needs a competent adviser on this area.

Malacañang and DFA sources say Aquino does not have rapport with Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo. It has been widely written that Aquino accommodated Romulo, whose record of incompetence is known in the diplomatic community, in his cabinet because of his sisters’ wishes.

The disconnect between Malacañang and the DFA showed its adverse repercussions in the missed calls of Hongkong executive Donald Tsang to Aquino at the height of the Aug. 23 hostage crisis.

It is certainly hoped that Aquino learned a lesson from that unfortunate episode.

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Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse M. Robredo today expressed his gratitude to President Benigno S. Aquino, III for absolving him of accountability on the botched police negotiations during the August 23 Manila hostage crisis.

“I appreciate the President’s clarification of my role as the one primarily in charge of local governments, rather than the police,” said Robredo. “My mandate was clear from the very start and since the directive of the President is such, we will have to comply by it,” added Robredo and further debunking a radio report today that said Robredo merely wanted local governments.

Earlier, the President defended the DILG Secretary from statements that he should not be part of the investigating team on the hostage tragedy because of his lapses as DILG chief.

Aquino said it was Interior Undersecretary Rico Puno whom he designated in charge of the police because he wanted Robredo to concentrate on the concerns of local government units.

Asked whether Puno should be held accountable, Aquino said “partly” because he was in charge of the police during the incident.

Robredo co-chairs the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima probing the Manila hostage fiasco that resulted in the killing of eight Hong Kong nationals and the hostage taker.

Other members of the IIRC are Teresita Ang See, representing the Filipino Chinese community; Herman Basbaño, president of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas and Integrated Bar of the Philippines governor for Eastern Mindanao Rowan Libarios

******

From ABS-CBN:

Rico Puno qualified to handle peace and order – Palace

Despite the botched police rescue of Hong Kong tourists, Malacañang believes Rico Puno is qualified for his post as Interior and Local Government undersecretary for peace and order.

Presidential Communications Operations Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma said Puno has the experience and skill to oversee various agencies under the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) such as the Philippine National Police, the Bureau of Fire Protection, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and the Philippine Public Safety College.

Coloma issued the statement amid the ongoing political backlash caused by the August 23 hostage crisis in Manila.

Puno was the Palace’s point man in the crisis management committee that handled efforts to convince former police officer Rodolfo Mendoza to free the Hong Kong tourists he held hostage.

DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo earlier said that he was “out of the loop” in the hostage negotiations, and that Puno was assigned to monitor the crisis.

Coloma said critics who question Puno’s leadership skills should “justify their claim”.

Puno background

Puno’s curriculum vitae, which the Presidential Communications Office gave to journalists, shows that the DILG deputy chief was a “long-time consultant” of then-Senator Benigno Aquino III in the upper chamber’s Committee on Public Order and Safety and Dangerous Drugs and Special Oversight on Economic Affairs body.

According to the document, Puno “reviewed and analyzed the pertinent laws and polices of the Dangerous Drugs Board,” and advised Aquino in the Senate Committee on Public Order and Safety.

He also served as the “overall ground commander” in Aquino’s 2007 senatorial campaign.

Puno was president of Far East Ballistics Corporation from 1992 to 1995, where “he implemented polices for improvement and development in the production of ammunition.”

He was also board member of the National Range Officers Institute at Philippine Practical Shooting Association, and was involved in the staging of shooting competitions in the country and abroad.

He is a known gun enthusiast, reports said.

Coloma, however, stressed that “Puno reports to Robredo,” and that the DILG chief had an oversight function during the hostage crisis.

Aquino earlier said he ordered Robredo to “rein in” a high-ranking National Police Commission official who was meddling in the negotiations for the release of the hostages.

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Citroni

“People are born, they live and they die. They don’t disappear,” she said. But it happens. In the Philippines the practice is more known as “salvaging” a cruel play on the word that means “saving”.

Citroni, a professor at the University of Milano-Bicocca, has been active in the United Nations effort to ratify and eventually implement the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances.

She said Enforced Disappearances start with deprivation of liberty, followed by concealment or denial of the victim.

In searching for the disappeared kin, relatives often are met with questions by law enforcement authorities, “Who is he? Is there such a person?”

“Can you think of a much worse human brutality than someone telling you that your loved one never existed”, she asked.

Yesterday’s forum was also the launching of the film documentary “Unsilenced” about desaparecidos in the Philippines.

“Unsilenced”, directed by King Mark Baco took off from the case of six workers of PICOP (Paper Industries Corporation of the Philippines) in Agusan del Sur who disappeared after they were picked up by soldiers belonging to the 62nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army on October 14, 2000.They were Joseph Belar, Jovencio Lagare, Romualdo Orcullo, Diosdado Oliver, Artemio Ayala, and Arnold Dangkiasan.

Orcullo: looking for a disappeared son

FIND and AFAD lauded the refusal of the families the PICOP 6 to be silenced. “With the growing support from the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates, AFAD and other kindred groups, the families are more inspired to pursue the fight to its final resolution, “ they said.

The two groups said the International Day of the Disappeared “was an occasion to revisit the chronicles of courage and self-sacrifice of the desaparecidos which remind us that the commission of involuntary disappearance particularly against suspected enemies of the state persists with impunity.

“The abominable global offense, a State-perpetrated violence, has spawned violations of practically all human rights. Precious lives are snuffed out, civil liberties curtailed voices of protest and resistance muffled amidst a chilling culture of impunity.

“Putting an end to enforced disappearance poses a great challenge to human rights advocates and defenders. Far greater is to successfully compel states to sign and ratify the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance and ensure that enforced disappearance constitutes a criminal offense in their statute books.

“Learning from the Philippine experience, it is possible to enact special laws criminalizing human rights violations. In November last year,t he Philippines enacted Republic Act No. 9745 or the Anti-Torture Law.Lamentably, the proposed law defining and penalizing enforced or involuntary disappearance still awaits congressional imprimatur even as the Convention remains unsigned.

AFAD and FIND appealed to President Aquino as well as the leaders of Timor Leste, India, Indonesia, Pakistan,Thailand and Nepal to take the lead in the signing and ratification of the Convention.

To date, the Convention has 83 signatories and 19 state parties (India is a signatory but not a state party. TheNetherlands is reported to have virtually reserved for the 20th slot that will mark the Convention’s entry into force.

The joint statement asked: “Shouldn’t AFAD’s member organizations’ respective states and other Asian states race to be the 20th state party and show the world that they are sincere in upholding human dignity and human rights more particularly the right not to be disappeared?”

Now you have a signed re-instatement of Mendoza by National Capital Region Police Chief Leocadio Santiago which didn’t reach the hostage taker in time because it was carried by motorcycle cop. They haven’t heard of fax machine!

From ABS-CBNnews

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jesse Robredo will not resign amid calls for his head to roll in the wake of the August 23 hostage crisis.

“Honestly, if I can tell myself that I was really responsible, you will not see me any minute longer in this office,” he told ABS-CBN News in an exclusive interview.

He added that he was not part of the crisis management group that led efforts to get dismissed police officer Rodolfo Mendoza to free the Hong Kong tourists held hostage inside a bus in Manila.

“I was out of the loop, really, in terms of management of that situation,” he said on Tuesday.

He watched the crisis unfold through television in his office. He said the situation had turned from bad to worse while he was attending an emergency meeting called for by President Benigno Aquino III later that night at the Emerald Restaurant in Manila.

Robredo is asking Philippine National Police (PNP) Director-General Jesus Verzosa to explain why he left Metro Manila at the height of the crisis.

“(Ang) aking impression was that they looked at it as purely a police matter. Yebra was doing his job, but things did not turn out right,” Robredo added.

‘Twas Usec. Puno in crisis committee

The Palace has admitted that it assigned DILG Undersecretary Rico Puno, and not Robredo, to monitor the situation.

Puno defended Verzosa, saying the PNP chief was talking to the ground commander, Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay, even while he was in Cagayan de Oro.

“We were all relaxed already. Di na namin talaga inaasahan iyon… Because all indications na makakausap si Inspector Mendoza, and hihingi siya ng isang bagay o bago namin ibigay iyan ay bigyan mo muna kami ng isang hostage.. ibibigay niya,” (We were all relaxed already. We did not expect it because all indications pointed at talking to Inspector Mendoza and he will ask for something. In exchange we will ask for a hostage to be released and he will agree),” Puno said.

He stressed that the government did not belittle the situation, as Aquino was informed about the crisis early in the morning of August 23.

“Protocol dictates na walang high government offficial na makikita doon dahil pag nakita ka doon ay humingi siya ng mas malaki at baka ma-commit. (Protocol dictates that the hostage-taker will not see any high-ranking official. Otherwise, he will only make bigger demands),” he explained.

Puno said the government had plans to give in to the hostage-taker’s demands and reinstate him in the PNP.

He said the crisis management group wanted Mendoza to become exhausted until he surrendered to police.

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, who led the local crisis management committee that handled the crisis, said they were willing to grant the hostage-taker’s demand.

“Gumawa nga ng sulat eh, na may order na. Pirmado si Gen. Santiago eh, na sige i-rereinstate na siya. Problema ay pinadala niya sa motorcycle cop, huli na nang dumating. (A letter was made, signed by Gen. Santiago, which will reinstate him in the police force. The problem was it was sent through a motorcycle cop who arrived late).”

Roberedo, meanwhile, said conflicting statements of various officials will be clarified once a government review committee starts its investigation into the case. – From an exclusive report by Julius Babao, ABS-CBN News

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Hindi ba alam ng Malacanang o ng Department of Foreign Affairs na tatlo sa walong namatay ay Canadian citizens? Isa na namang katangahan ito kung hindi nila alam dahil napabalita sa mga diyaryo as Canada at Hongkong. Nabanggit na rin ng mga diyaryo dito as Pilipinas.

Ang tatlong Hongkong Canadian ay ang negosyateng si Ken Leung (58 taong gulang) at ang kanilang dalawang anak na babae na sina Jessie (14) at Doris (21). Nakaligtas Ang asawa ni Leung na si Amy Ng at Ang kanilang 18-taong gular na anak na lalaki na si Jason.
Inuperahan si Jason as utak dahil napukpuk raw siya ng malakas as ulo.

Humingi na ng paumanhin si Pangulong Aquino as pamahalaan ng Hongkong at China, na sumasakop as Hongkong. Bakit híndi niya ginawa yun as Canada?

Kahit ba sabihin mong hindi humihingi ang Canada ng paumanhin (at ayaw na siguro magdagdag pa sa problema ng Pilipinas) ay dapat naman magpadala ng mensahe si Aquino.

Hindi kaya siya sinabihan ng kanyang ni Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo? Pumalpak na sila sa tawag ni Donald Tsang. Hindi pa sila natututo dito sa Canada.
***
Mabuti na rin na binusalan na Philippine National Police as pagpapalabas ng ano man tungkol as imbestigasyon na kanilang ginagawa habang híndi pa natatapos lahat.

Ito ay inutos ni Justice Secretary Leila de Lima pagkatapos lumabas ang balita na lumabas daw sa mga naunang pagsusuri na lahat daw nab ala na nakita sa katawan ng mga biktima ay galing sa baril ng hostage taker na si dating Senior Police Inspector Rolando Mendoza.

Ibig sabihin noon, walang namatay sa “friendly fire” o bala na galing as mga pulis.

Maaring totoo. Ngunit sa ngayon, bagsak ang kredibilidad ng Philippine National Police at ng Manila police na siyang nagsagawa ng operasyun para i-rescue ang mga hostages ngunit trahedya ang nangyari.

Nagkatugma naman ang kuwento ng lahat na ang dahilan ng pagwawala ng hostage taker ay nang sapilitang inaresto ang kanyang kapatid na si SPO2 Gregorio Mendoza sa utos ni Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim.

Ngayon kung ano-ano ang nilalabas nilang impormasyun laban kay Gregorio. Marami raw siyang dating kaso. Panggulo na ito kahit pa totoo. Ang isyu ditto ay ang palpak na operasyun noong Agosto 23.

Ang sanay simpleng operasyun ng pulis ay nagiging krisis na rin sa diplomasya na apektado na ng ating ekonomiya. Katotohanan lamang ang makakaresolba nito. Kaya tigilan na ng mga sangkot na nasa kapangyarihan ang pagtatakip ng katotohanan.

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Foreign news agencies reported last Friday that China “had used a small, manned submarine to plant the national flag deep beneath the South China Sea, where Beijing has tussled with Washington and Southeast Asian nations over territorial disputes.”

What is the Philippines going to do now, being one of the countries that claim some parts of the South China Sea?

The Reuters report said “The submarine achieved the feat during 17 dives from May to last month, when it went as deep as 3,759m below the South China Sea, China News Service said, citing the Ministry of Science and Technology and State Oceanic Administration.”

Reuters also said “Chinese news reports did not say where the submarine went, whether it visited disputed waters, or why the announcement was held off until now. It was the first time a Chinese submersible vehicle has gone that deep, the reports said.”

Reuters reported that Liu Feng, the engineer in charge of the deep-sea dive, said in a TV interview “This success also shows that our country has become one of the handful possessing deep-sea manned submersible technology.”

The submarine test, Reuters said, underscored China’s ambitions to join the race for resources in the ocean depths.

The South China Sea covers an area of more than 1.7 million square kilometers, with more than 200 mostly uninhabitable islets, rocks and reefs. The sea holds valuable fishing grounds and as-yet largely unexploited oil and natural gas fields.

China claims the whole South China Sea while the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Brunei, claims part of the 1.7 square kilometer area with more than 160 mostly unhabitable islets and reefs. Studies show the area to rich in natural resource including an estimated 200 billion barrels of oil.

South China Sea has been a scene of skirmishes among claimant countries. In 1999, the Philippines discovered too late that China had built structures in Mischief reef which it also claims. China also occupied the Paracels after a 1974 conflict with Vietnam.

Last July, China vehemently objected to the statement of U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton made at the Asean Regional Forum in Hanoi that “The United States has a national interest in freedom of navigation, open access to Asia’s maritime commons and respect for international law in the South China Sea,” and supports “a collaborative diplomatic process by all claimants for resolving the various territorial disputes without coercion.”

China’s Foreign Ministry said Clinton’s statement was “virtually an attack on China” and that U.S meddling on the regional issue would “only make matters worse and more difficult to solve.”

At the meeting of the 10-country Asean plus six of its dialogue partners in Hanoi in October which Aquino will attend, one of the topics to be discussed will be the proposed Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

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Hindi lang ang mga pulis ang lumabas na palpak. Pumalpak rin ang Malacañang at Department of Foreign Affairs sa tawag ni Donald Tsang, chief Executive ng Hong Kong Special Administrative Region na sakop ng higanteng People’s Republic of China.

Hindi pinakausap kay Pangulong Aquino si Tsang nang tumawag ito ng hapon pa lang. Una sabi ang aide ni Aquino na nakatanggap ng tawag ay hindi kilala kung sino si Tsang. Umiba na ang linya ng Malacanang ngayon. Sabi kilala naman daw si Tsang kaya lang hindi raw sila sigurado kung si Tsang nga dahil sa trunkline tumawag at wala naman daw pasabi muna. Kaya itinuro sa Department fo Foreign Affairs.

Sa DFA naman, sabi nila ang instruction daw ng Malacañang ay hintayin ang tawag ni Tsang. Kaya naghintay sila.Hindi naman daw tumawag. Hindi nila inisip na sila ang tumawag dahil ang instruction daw ng Malacañang ay hintayin ang tawag.

Saka na lang nila naisip tumawag ng patay ng matapos na ang hostage-taking at patay na ang walong taga-Hongkong at galit nag alit na si Tsang at ang China.

Patong-patong na palpak.

Apat na oras bago humarap sa sambayanang Pilipino si Pangulong Aquino pagkatapos ng trahedya. Hindi rin siya nag-sorry doon. Binatikos siya sa kanyang porma doon na parang hindi seryoso.

Kinabukasan, pumunta si Aquino sa Rizal Park at nag-inspekyun sa lugar ng malagim na pangyayari. Nandun pa ang bus kung saan na hostage ang mga taga Hongkong. Hindi siya pumunta sa mga survivor ng trahedya na nandito.

Sina Bise-Presidente Jejomar Binay at ilang cabinet member ang dumalo sa Buddhist rites na isinagawa para sa mga namatay.

Ang pumunta sa ospital ay ang kapatid niyang si Kris Aquino. Hindi naman fans ni Kris ang mga taga-Hongkong kaya walang epek ang pagbisita ni Kris. Ang iba niyang kapatid na sina Ballsy, Pinky at Viel ay pumunta noong Biyernes sa Rizal Park at nag-alay ng bulaklak at kandila.

Saka na lang siya humingi ng paumanhin kay Tsang at sa China ng tumitindi na ang galit sa Hongkong at China.

Patong-patong na dagok sa Pilipinas dahil sa hostage-taking noong Lunes. Tinanggihan ng China at Hongkong ang delegasyon na pangungunahan ni Binay hanggang hindi makumpleto ang imbestigasyun sa malagim na insidente.

Kinansela na ang bisite ng Vice Premier ng China, ang pangalawang pinaka-mataas na opisyal na makapangyarihan g basnsa sa Asia. Hindi na rin daw dadalo ang dalawang Ramon Magsaysay awardee na Intsik.

Kahit naman anong bagyo sa buhay ay lilipas. Kaya lang sana naman may natutunan ang ating mga opisyal sa nangyari noong Lunes. Para naman may kabuluhan itong sakit at kahihiyan na naidulot nitong trahedya.

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Sinabi ito ni Magtibay sa imbestigasyon ng Senado. Sang-ayon naman ang lahat na maayos ang takbo ng negosasyun sa simula at nagpalaya na nga ng ilang hostages. Nag-iba ang ihip ng hangin ng makita ni Rolando Mendoza na kinakaladkad ang kapatid niya ng mga pulis. Live ito pinapakita sa TV. May TV ang bus.

Gusto ko lang klaruhin. Hindi ko kinukunsinti ang ginawa ni Rolando Mendoza. Malaki ang kasalanan niya sa gulong ito. Ngunit lalong lumaki ang krisis dahil sa kapalpakan ng ating mga opisyal.

Mali naman talaga ang desisyun na arestuhin si SPO2 Gregorio sa oras na yun kahit na sa paniwala ng mga pulis ay hindi siya nakakatulong sa negosasyun. Kung may kasalanan siya, pwede naman saka na lang kasuhan. Sa oras na yun dapat ang atensyun nila ay sa bus kung saan marami pang hostages ang naiwan.

Tanong ni Revilla: “Sino ang nag-utos na arestuhin si SPO2 Mendoza”. Matagal bago sinagot ni Magtibay ang tanong. Una, kung ano-anong justification siya. Nag ulit-ulitin ni Revilla ang tanong, nagbuntunghininga si magtibay at saka sinabi si Mayor Lim.

Ito ngayon ang palusot ni Lim: hindi raw niya inurderan na arestuhin. I-posasan lang daw. Klaro ang sinabi ni Magtibay sa Senado na sinabi ni Lim sa kanya: “Arestuhin na yan.”

Sinabi pa ni Lim na dalhin si Gregorio sa presinto Uno. Alam nyo ba ang presinto Uno? Yun ang nasa Tondo. Ang usap-usapan, uso doon ang torture at salvage.

Sabi ni Lim, namis- interpret daw ni Magtibay ang utos niya na “posasan” . Akala daw “arrest.”

Ito ang nakaka-inis. Pumalpak na nga sila, ginagago pa tayo.

Kailan ba nagwala si SPO2 Mendoza? Pagkatapos siyang sinabihan na arestado siya at kakasuhan bilang accessory to the crime. Kaya siya tumakbo sa lugar ng mga media.Kung hindi nagbigay ng order ng arrest si Lim, tatakbo ba si Gregorio papuntang media?

Itong kilos ni Gregorio ay dapat intindihin natin sa kultura na umiiral sa mga pulis. Alam ng lahat ang reputasyun ni Lim, na siyang nagsampa ng kaso laban kay Rolando. Naala-ala nyo ba noon ang marahas na pag-aresto ng may-ari at mga trabahador sa Tondo slaughterhouse na hindi mga kakapi ng dating mayor ng Maynila na si Lito Atienza? Talagang matatakot ka kapag nag-order si Lim na arestuhin ka at dadalhin ka kung saan.

Sabi ni Lim nag-sorry daw si Magtibay sa kanya. Siyempre.

Kinampihan ni Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo si Lim sa mga batikos na hindi raw nakikita noong mga oras ng hostage-taking. Nandoon daw si Lim at sina Magtibay sa Emerald restaurant at nagmumu-monitor ng nangyayari sa Luneta.

Walang sinasabi si Robredo kung saan naman ang kanyang undersecretary na si Rico E. Puno na siyang in-charge ng peace and order at PNP.

Nag-aalala ako na kung ganitong palusutan at takipan ang pina-paiiral ng mga sangkot sa trahedya,hindi natin matutuntun ang katotohanan.Hindi magkakaroon ng maayos na solusyun sa problem kung nakabase sa kasinungalingan.

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Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang has cancelled his official visit to Manila, supposedly set for the first week of September. But the Department of Foreign Affairs clarified the cancellation had nothing to do with the hostage-taking incident that is straining diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Li was supposed to arrive for a three-day visit September 5 to 7. He would have been the first high-level official of any country to visit the two-month-old Aquino government and was hoping to reaffirm his country’s strategic partnership with the Philippines.

In the hierarchy of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Li is set to succeed Wen Jiabao as Premier in the “fifth generation” of the CPC leadership. Premier Wen steps down in 2013.

Click here (VERA Files) for the rest of the story.

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In his press conference Monday evening, after eight of the 22 Hongkong nationals on a sightseeing visit to the Philippines ended up dead when a dismissed policemen held them hostage for 12 hours, Tsang said “since 4pm” he had been trying to call up Aquino “but all efforts failed.”

The tragedy has resulted in diplomatic fall-outs. The Philippine consulate in Hongkong has been a scene of emotional protests from Hongkong nationals. Philippine Airlines and Manila hotels have reported cancellation of tourists reservations.

Beijing has refused to receive the top-level delegation (Vice President Jejomar Binay, Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, and Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda) being sent by Aquino until such time that investigation on the tragedy is completed.

The three officials were supposed to have left Thursday for Hongkong and Beijing. Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Jiang Yu “We believe that the most urgent task is to have a complete investigation of the matter as soon as possible.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs had to come out with a statement that “While the delegation is ready to leave anytime, there is an understanding between both sides that the Philippine delegation will bring a full report of Monday’s incident.”

After last Monday’s debacle, the Aquino government seems hardpressed to repair the diplomatic strain with economic giant China, and its prosperous administrative region. Informed by media about Tsang’s statement in his press conference held first hours of Tuesday, Aquino professed that he did not know about Tsang’s call. To make up for that lapse, Aquino called up Tsang the next day.

We inquired what really happened to have caused what we consider a serious diplomatic blunder and we were told by a Malacañang official, who declined to be named,that while monitoring Monday’s hostage situation, Aquino told his staff that he won’t be taking any calls unless it’s extremely important.

The official said when Tsang called, the one who took the call didn’t know who Donald Tsang is. Following the President’s instruction, the staff member did not pass on the call to Aquino.

Secretary Ricky Carandang, one of the two heads of the Aquino’s Communication office, clarified yesterday that the aide who got the call from the office of Donald Tsang knew who he is but they wanted to make sure of the authenticity of the caller because it was made
through the Malacañang trunk line without prior notice.

Aquino’s aide told Tsang’s aide to “put the phone down and we will call you through our foreign minister.”’

Carandang said Presidential spokesman Ed Lacierda called up the spokesman of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ed Malaya, to convey their request to set up a call between Tsang and Aquino.

My sources in the DFA said the Philippine Consul General in Hongkong, Claro Cristobal, also relayed the request of the office of Tsang for him to talk with Aquino.

It’s a mystery now why that request was not complied with. Was the request relayed to Malacañang? If Malacañang told Romulo’s office to call up Tsang, why was it not arranged when Hongkong was also trying to contact Aquino?

Carandang, in his explanation to Raissa Robles of the South China Morning Post, said they followed up the instruction to DFA to set up the call between Aquino and Tsang.“Lacierda tried to phone Malaya again three times but could not reach him,” he said.

Carandang said in the flurry of the hostage rescue fiasco, the call to Tsang was not attended to anymore until it was too late and the HK executive had already expressed his disappointment in a press conference.

We talked with Malaya about Malacañang’s claim of the DFA’s failure return Tsang’s call but he declined to give any comment.

South China Morning Post reported that Tsang said in a video posted on the internet that he was finally able to talk with Aquino last Tuesday: “The first thing he told me was that he was sorry for not having called me back [on Monday] because he was then busy commanding the operation.”

Just when we thought the bungling of Tsang’s Monday call to Aquino has been clarified, the Inquirer came out with a report yesterday headlined “Palace exec doubts HK chief called Aquino during hostage crisis.”

It was based in yesterday’s morning TV interview where Coloma, commenting on Aquino’s failure to take Tsang’s call said, “Di kapanipaniwala yan ’dahil accessible siya sa lahat ng oras [That is unbelievable because the President is accessible all the time],”

Coloma also said, “If [Tsang] called the office of the President, his call will be received. Even if the President left the Palace for a short while, he could still be reached because his mobile phones are with his aides,”

Coloma, in the afternoon, issued a statement saying Inquirer’s headline of the story “is not correct.”

He explained that “When I was interviewed over ABS-CBN this morning, I did not state nor imply any ‘doubts (that the) HK chief called (President) Aquino during (the) hostage crisis’ last Monday.

“The report quotes me as having said, ‘Di kapanipaniwala yan dahil ‘accessible’ siya sa lahat ng oras.’ (That is unbelievable because the President is accessible all the time).

“What I referred to as being unbelievable was the claim published in earlier newspaper reports that President Aquino was “inaccessible” at that time.”

A foreign diplomat who is closely monitoring news reports on last Monday’s tragedy said he is more confused now. We share his confusion.

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