The high-level delegation to smooth relations between China and the Philippines following the death of Chinese and Canadian nationals in the hostage-taking incident last Monday did not leave as scheduled on Thursday.

The delegation, composed of Vice President Jejomar Binay, Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, and Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda, has been given a mission by President Aquino to meet with Chinese officials and explain what happened during the incident.

“The trip to Beijing will be rescheduled,” Office of the Vice President media relations officer Joey Salgado said.

“The Vice President will personally deliver the letter of condolence signed by President Aquino and addressed to the government of China and Hong Kong,” Salgado said.

“The President instructed (Binay) to visit Hong Kong and China to relay the message, to give them updates on the investigation, to make a report basically on what happened. Siguro at the same time, kasama na dun, to apologize on what happened [I think at the same time, part of the visit would be to apologize on what happened],” Binay’s chief of staff Benjamin Martinez Jr. had said.

"We're still fixing their schedule. As we all know, there are protocols that have to be arranged," Martinez said.

The delegation was supposed to leave at 7:20 a.m. on Thursday for Beijing where they were to meet with Chinese officials.

The DFA said it is still awaiting arrangements from the Chinese side to ensure that the mission of the high-level delegation to Hong Kong to officially explain what happened during Monday's hostage-taking incident is achieved.

Romulo said the delegation is now making the necessary arrangements with the Chinese embassy and will proceed to Beijing to officially send a report to President Hu Jintao.

The delegation will then proceed to Hong Kong to have a dialogue with Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chief Executive Donald Tsang.

“Appropriate announcement will be made when the visit will take place,” Romulo said.

Earlier, Philippine authorities said the delegation was to have left on Thursday for Beijing and then proceed to Hong Kong on Friday to meet with Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang.

A visit to the families of the victims of the Manila bus hostage crisis had also been scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

They were also slated to meet with Filipinos in Hong Kong on Sunday before going back to the country.

In a related development, former president and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo yesterday wrote Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to send her condolences to the Chinese for the killing of Hong Kong residents in Manila last Monday.

Mrs. Arroyo also vowed to follow the investigation and see to it that justice is served to the families of the five Hong Kong residents and three Canadians who were killed in the botched rescue mission.

"In strongest terms, I condemn this brutal slaying which has stirred outrage and has caused much pain to the Chinese nation. I shall follow closely the government's conduct of investigation into this tragic incident that would determine possible culpability on the part of the authorities," Mrs. Arroyo said in her letter to the Chinese prime minister.

Mrs. Arroyo's spokeswoman, Elena Bautista Horn, said the success of the rescue mission was probably dependent on the way that the rescue mission was directed by those who were in charge, and not on the equipment available to the police.

"As you know, Dr. Arroyo has shown time and again that in similar incidents, whether in the Philippines or when Angelo de la Cruz was held hostage overseas, she has always shown her focus on saving even if it’s only a single life," Horn said.

Horn added that amidst the protest actions of the Chinese, like Hong Kong's travel advisory against the Philippines and the discrimination against Filipino workers in Hong Kong, the least that Filipinos can do to assuage their grief is to condole with them.

She said nobody could blame the Chinese for feeling resentment for the botched rescue mission, and Filipinos would probably mount the same protest actions against any people whose leaders could not secure visitors from harm in their territory. (With a report by David Cagahastian)