MANILA, Philippines - Amid fears that there is an anti-Philippines sentiment in the city due to the recent hostage crisis, a group of teenagers from Hong Kong showed their love for Filipinos based there.

The group, said to be led by a certain Jessie Lau, went around central Hong Kong on August 29, 6 days after a hostage incident in Manila ended in the death of 8 Hong Kong tourists.

Carrying cardboard signs that read "We love Filipinos," the teenagers approached Filipino workers in the area, expressed their sympathy over the tragic incident, and gave them hugs.

All of these were recorded on video, which was posted on social networking site Facebook.

"I know this is hard for you as it is hard for us. Let's go through this together," one of them said.

Another added, "Mahal kita! Salamat po! (I love you! Thank you!) Bye bye!"

Filipinos, for their part, thanked the Hong Kong youth and hoped that the 2 countries can continue to work together to prevent such incidents from happening again.

"We are sorry for what happened. I hope and pray that we can move on. Let's have solidarity," a Filipina worker said.

Earlier, rumors circulated that Hong Kong employers sacked Filipino maids to vent their anger over the Manila hostage bloodbath. These were further heightened by unfounded reports that 3 Filipinos were killed in the city recently.

Authorities there, however, stressed that Filipinos in Hong Kong are not treated any differently after the incident. (Read story here.)

On August 23, disgruntled ex-policeman Rolando Mendoza hijacked a busload of Hong Kong tourists in Manila in an apparent bid to win his old job back and be cleared of extortion charges.

Mendoza, along with 8 tourists, were killed in the final stages of the 12-hour standoff when police launched an assault on the bus. The entire incident unfolded live on television screens across the globe. -- Report from Jeff Canoy, ABS-CBN News. With a report from Agence France-Presse