EPAL ALERT: Mayor Erap

from haringliwanag.panisian.net

When the president said that he can't apologize to HK officials, it wasn't because he's just numb to do so. There is a deeper sense, and Erap just didn't get it. Now, Erap will be heading to HK not only to give an apology, but also to give a 100 000 000 pesos to the victims' family.

What's wrong?

People apologize when they do something wrong. Likewise, government officials like Erap embody the institution and the people as a whole. Therefore, an apology would equate to a concession that the hostage taking was OUR FAULT, the Philippines in general. This is not an issue of being humble and being able to utter the word "sorry". This is about the possible consequences of the action at this point of time where there are multiple disputes on the table.

When Erap goes to HK, he won't only represent Manila, but he'll also bear the name of the Philippines. That action would only backtrack the statements of PNoy. The logic now would be; if the Mayor already admits it, why won't the president apologize? 

Also, the 100 000 000 is very questionable (that's a lot of zeros). Why can't he just use the money to stimulate businesses in China town (if that's the only thing he wants to solve)? Or better yet, use it for other projects, that I'm sure, need more funding.