Manila, Philippines — President Aquino has agreed to hold a no-holds-barred interview with three television stations this Thursday in the aftermath of the hostage crisis which left eight tourists from Hong Kong and the hostage-taker dead, a Malacañang official said on Wednesday.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the President will answer all questions related to the violent hostage drama from news anchors from ABS-CBN Channel 2, GMA Channel 7, and TV-5 during the one-and-a-half-hour interview.

The President's interview to be held at the Presidential Studio of Kalayaan Hall starting at 1 p.m. will be aired live over state-run National Broadband Network-4 and Radyo ng Bayan as well as ANC cable network.

As of press time, only ABS-CBN among the private networks had committed to air the interview live, said Lacierda.

The panel members would include GMA-7’s Mike Enriquez, ABS-CBN's Ted Failon, and TV-5's Paolo Bediones.

Lacierda said the interview is meant to settle all the questions on live broadcast on the involvement of the President in the hostage drama.

Meanwhile, members of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) will hold a demonstration of their preparedness and capability in handling emergency situations in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig this afternoon.

There will also be demonstrations n Friday in Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija and in Sangley Point, Cavite.

The Aquino government was criticized over the tragic end of the hostage drama which earned the ire of some Chinese officials and Chinese nationals.

Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said that President Aquino would not be investigated for August 23 hostage drama but may be requested to serve as resource person in case the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IICR) panel which was formed to probe the incident, decides to ask him to appear.

Last Tuesday the President said he does not regret taking responsibility for the bungled government response to the hostage taking two weeks ago. Mr. Aquino, widely criticized for the hostage fiasco, claimed he is on top of the chain of command, especially having supervision over the police force.

“The point here is and I want to emphasize this, somebody has to take responsibility for it. Somebody should also work on how to fix the mess,” he told reporters in Filipino.

But the President emphasized that his move does not necessarily absolve any public official who may be found liable for the hostage tragedy.

He added that the investigation into the hostage incident is still ongoing.