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| Ex-Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario at the U.N. (AP file photo) |
By The SUN
Former Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario is on
his way back to Manila after being held for
about six hours at Hong Kong International
Airport
The country’s former top diplomat arrived in Hong Kong from Manila
He flew back to Manila aboard
another Cathay flight that was scheduled to land at the Ninoy Aquino
International Airport
His lawyer, Anne Marie Corominas, said Del Rosario was holding
a diplomatic passport and Hong Kong
authorities were informed about his visit but did not give any indication that
he would be barred entry.
She said all that the Secretary was told was that he was
being held because of “immigration reasons.”
Corominas said, “That raises the question of where Hong Kong is getting instructions from.”
Del Rosario’s ordeal
came just a month after the Philippines ’
former Ombudswoman, Conchita Carpio-Morales, was also barred entry to Hong Kong .
The two jointly filed a case against Chinese President Xi
Jinping at the International Criminal Court over China ’s
incursions in the West Philippine Sea, which many observers say could have
triggered the decision to bar them both from Hong Kong .
As in Carpio-Morales’ case, Del Rosario was reportedly held
in isolation for a few hours before Philippine Consulate officers were allowed
to join them.
But Corominas said there was a difference in the two cases.
Carpio-Morales visited Hong Kong as a tourist,
holding a regular passport, while Del Rosario was here on official visit.
“He (Del Rosario) was traveling on a diplomatic passport and
got permission to use it,” she said.
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After a few hours of being kept in a private room along with
his protocol officer, Consul General Antonio Morales and Consul Paul Saret were
allowed to join him.
Asked for his mood during the detention, Corominas said the
elder statesman was patient at first, but as the hours passed, she said it
was just his strong faith in God that helped him bear the diplomatic snub.
“God is more powerful than China
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