MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine government said Thursday the results of an inquest by a Hong Kong court on the August 23, 2010 Manila bus hijack is "consistent" with the conclusions of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC).

"The inquest jurors' verdict of 'unlawful killing' at the hands of the gunman is consistent with the conclusions of the Philippine investigation," a statement released by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

The statement reiterated that the Philippine investigation was "fair, transparent and open to the participation of persons and officials from Hong Kong."

"Hong Kong’s own investigation into the incident was expansive in scope and wealth of evidence precisely because of the full and sincere cooperation of Philippine authorities," it said.

The DFA statement also said that "Philippine law affords the families of the victims in the 23 August tragedy the opportunity to seek redress in Philippine courts."

"The Philippines deeply regrets the loss and disruption of lives as a result of that tragedy and seeks to bring justice to the victims," it said.

"Towards this end, the criminal and administrative proceedings against the persons found responsible are well underway. Work is also continuing to address gaps in law enforcement and emergency response capabilities," it added.

Inquest

On Wednesday, a unanimous decision by a 5-man jury, formed by the Hong Kong Coroner's Court, found the deaths as "unlawful."

The court also faulted Philippine officials for "not meeting the hostage-taker's demands" quickly, and also said the bungled rescue delayed treatment for two victims, and faulted the government for not controlling media coverage of the arrest of the brother of hostage-taker Rolando Mendoza.

The inquest heard from 31 Hong Kong witnesses and 10 from the Philippines.

The jury was charged with determining the victims' cause of death -- including death by misadventure and unlawful killing -- and whether they agreed or disagreed with statements made during the five-week hearing, the South China Morning Post reported.

A report by The Standard, a Hong Kong newspaper, said Coroner Michael Chan Pik-kiu told the 5 jurors to answer eight questionnaires, each comprising a list of about 44 statements about events leading to the deaths of each of the eight hostages. Jurors must answer "yes," "no" or "uncertain" to the statements, deducing whether the eight were "unlawfully killed."

The statements included one on whether the jury agrees the eight would have lived if Mendoza's demand to be reinstated in the police force had been properly addressed by Manila. Another is whether Mendoza used his M16 assault rifle to shoot the hostages.

"The coroner also reminded jurors that their findings must be based solely on evidence in court, saying they should not be influenced by media reports or commentaries," the report said.

Avoidable tragedy

"It was a tragedy that could have been avoided," Hectar Pun, a lawyer for the victims' families, was quoted as saying during his closing submissions.

"It was because of the incompetence of the Philippines' police that eight people died and others were injured."

As the drama unfolded live on world television last August, police officers stormed the bus and shot dead lone gunman Mendoza, a disgraced ex-policeman who took a tourist bus hostage in a desperate bid to be reinstated after losing his job over corruption allegations.

But eight tourists died in the bungled rescue, prompting outrage in Hong Kong which issued a travel alert for the Philippines, advising citizens not to visit the popular travel destination.

The Hong Kong inquest, which will not assign criminal liability, heard minute-by-minute details of the crisis, including that Mendoza warned at least 10 times during telephone interviews with journalists that he would start shooting the hostages, reports said.

The hearing was also told that the gunman shot one handcuffed victim, Masa Tse, in the neck. Among the questions to jurors is whether police met Mendoza's demands in a "timely and appropriate manner" and if that was a factor in Tse's killing.

During the ensuing diplomatic row and with public anger running high in Hong Kong, some of the more than 100,000 Philippine maids in the southern Chinese city said they faced threats and harassment, and feared losing their jobs.

Minor charges

In October, Philippine President Benigno Aquino called for minor criminal charges such as "neglect of duty" to be filed against four police officers for their role in the debacle and lesser administrative charges against the mayor of Manila, Alfredo Lim, and a deputy ombudsman.

The move drew heavy criticism from Hong Kong officials and people, stoking calls for an inquiry in the Chinese territory.

Hong Kong coroner's inquests are generally limited to probing the cause of a person's death.

A Philippine government inquiry blamed Lim and the Manila police's handling of the crisis for the hostages' deaths.

However Lim controversially escaped any criminal prosecution after Aquino overruled his justice minister's recommendations. With the Agence France-Presse