MANILA, Philippines – Opposition Senator Joker Arroyo said Sunday that the Filipino public deserves a first look at the 83-page report of the incident investigation and review committee (IIRC) on the August 23 hostage crisis.

In an interview over Radio DZBB, Arroyo questioned the propriety in Malacañang’s decision to give the first crack at the results of the investigation to government authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong since the Philippines has jurisdiction over the case.

“Bakit naman Malacañang is giving China and Hong Kong the first crack, eh nakakapagtaka bakit ganun. Akala natin, akala ng publiko there was an investigation para malaman kung ano ang truth, kung ano talaga nangyari (Why is Malacañang giving China and Hong Kong the first crack. We thought, the public thought there was an investigation so we would know the truth, what really happened),” Arroyo said.

Arroyo said the IIRC report should be known first by Filipinos and its contents truthful so that there would be no complaints either from Beijing or Hong Kong.

“Maari bang ang report na iyon ginawa for China’s consumption hindi for our consumption, Filipino consumption? Ang report na iyan ginawa for the consumption of the Filipino (community) primarily kasi para malaman natin kung ano problema bakit tayo pumalpak sa rescue attempt. Sa atin yung problemang iyon (Can that report be made for China’s consumption and not for Filipino consumption? That report was done for the consumption of the Filipino (community) primarily because we need to know exactly the problem why the rescue attempt failed. The burden was on us,” he said.

Earlier, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said President Benigno S. Aquino III wanted the report released as soon as possible and allow China to peruse it first as a “matter of courtesy.”

Arroyo observed the Aquino government seems to be more concerned on the response of Hong Kong community than with Filipinos.

“Very sensitive ’yung gobyerno ngayon. They’re very sensitive to the reaction of Hong Kong but they are not sensitive to the reaction of the Filipino people. Hindi dapat ganun iyun. The idea is to find out the truth,” Arroyo said.

“How about (showing) courtesy to the Filipino people? Is that report intended for Hong Kong or intended for the Filipino people?” he asked.

On Sunday, the Palace said that Aquino is still studying the official report and may issue a statement regarding it before he leaves for the United States tonight.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma repeated that a copy of the inquiry report, which supposedly identified 12 people accountable for mishandling the hostage crisis, will be given to the Chinese government before it is disclosed to the public.

Arroyo criticized the Aquino government which he said has an orientation of a “student government.” “Alam mo diyan kasi sa Malacanang ang pagpatakbo nila ng gobyerno para bang student council, student government. Parang student government ang government of the Philippines,” the senator said.

Arroyo said it is imperative that President Aquino hire “bright guys” in Malacanang and the ones who are willing to take the cudgels for him, referring to the President’s admission of responsibility in the aftermath of the Aug. 23 tragedy.

RP-CHINA TIES INTACT – COLOMA

Meanwhile, Malacañang is pleased that relations between the Philippines and China remain intact despite violent hostage incident in Manila last month.

Coloma cited the statements of some Chinese government officials about stable ties between the two nations even after the tragic deaths of eight Hong Kong tourists.

“We are happy to hear those statements because there is no reduction of goodwill between the two countries,” Coloma said over government radio.

“They consider the tragedy of the hostage incident an isolated incident that should not affect and instead strengthen the ties between the two countries,” he added.

Coloma, during his recent visit in Beijing, said Minister Wang Chen of the State Council Information Office said China seeks to expand strong relations with the Philippines despite the hostage incident.

Although he deplored the bus hijacking in Manila as a tragedy, Minister Chen claimed his government is optimistic the Aquino administration would “learn from the many lessons” from the incident.

Coloma assured his Chinese counterpart that the Aquino government is committed to enhance its crisis management measures as well as upgrade the capability of security forces in dealing with similar threats.

Aquino has lined up a number of foreign travels this year after his US tour, including a much anticipated visit to China.

Mr. Aquino said he will travel to China soon because "China has to be given due course and due recognition." This would be the President’s first visit to China since the August 23 bus hijacking in Manila that left eight Hong Kong nationals dead.

BUSINESS AS USUAL

Philippine Ambassador to China Francisco L. Benedicto recently met with a group of Chinese journalists to discuss economic and investment opportunities in the Philippines and encourage local businessmen to look at the Philippines as a trade partner and investment destination.

Present during the interview were reporters from Xinhua, China News Service, China Daily, Caijing magazine, China Radio International, Economic Daily, The Economic Observer, and Beijing Youth Daily.

A representative of the China-ASEAN Business Council Secretariat also attended the interview.

“I hope you can inform the Chinese public that we welcome Chinese investors to the Philippines and that they should take advantage of many investment opportunities in many sectors, including tourism, agriculture and mining,” Benedicto told reporters.

He said economic and trade relations between the Philippines and China have grown robustly over the years because overall bilateral relations are strong.

“In 2008, China became the Philippines’ third largest trade partner, after the United States and Japan. China is also now the fifth largest source of raw materials, intermediate and finished goods for Philippine industries and consumers,” Benedicto pointed out.

Trade figures from the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) showed that bilateral trade between the Philippines and China has increased by 52.60 percent to US$13.1 billion in the first half of 2010 over the same period last year.

Total trade for the same period in 2009 was pegged at US$8.6 billion.

GACC statistics also revealed that as of June 2010, trade between the two countries was in favor of the Philippines, as China’s export to the Philippines was valued at US$5.6 billion, while China’s imports from the Philippines was pegged at US$7.5 billion.

Trade Counsellor Simeon Hernandez, who was also present at the meeting, expressed confidence that the volume of trade at the end of the year would be 50 percent higher than 2009.

This indicates the resurgence in trade between the Philippines and China after the considerable impact of global recession in the past two years, particularly in electronics.

It was emphasized that broadening the range of exports and imports between the two countries will be key to sustaining long-term growth, with agricultural and mineral products showing the most potential for further expansion in the trade structure.

Benedicto said that he wished to see more vigorous foreign direct investments from China to the Philippines, citing current trends showing that Philippine investments in China has for many years outpaced Chinese investments in the Philippines.

He drew attention to the Philippines’ 2010 Investment Priorities Plan, which outlines key investment areas in the Philippines.

The Ambassador told the Chinese journalists that the following sectors are the priority in the country’s investment promotion efforts: mining, motor vehicle and auto industry, engineered products (industrial machineries), agriculture/agri-business and fishery, infrastructure, energy, wood industry and research and development. (With a report from Roy C. Mabasa)