MANILA, Philippines?Hong Kong has assured the Philippines that Filipinos staying in China?s special administrative region would be safe amid reports of anger and discrimination against them in the aftermath of the botched hostage crisis in Manila.

President Benigno Aquino III Wednesday said he had already talked with Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang. ?[If] I remember correctly, I understood they would be taken care of,? he said in a news conference.

Mr. Aquino?s spokesperson, Edwin Lacierda, said in an earlier news briefing that Hong Kong?s officials had made ?a commitment to make sure that our Filipino brothers and sisters in Hong Kong are also taken care of.?

But Lacierda would not give a categorical answer on whether it would advise Filipinos against traveling to Hong Kong after Monday?s police assault on a tourist bus resulted in the deaths of eight Hong Kong Chinese.

Going there is a ?personal choice,? he said.

Public outrage in Hong Kong grew against Philippine authorities for mishandling the hostage crisis. Hong Kong has demanded that Manila launch a thorough investigation and provide it with a detailed report.

Jackie Chan?s tweets

Malacañang thanked Hong Kong?s movie star Jackie Chan for his Twitter messages expressing his understanding of the dilemma that confronted Filipino policemen during the hostage crisis.

?Thank you, Mr. Jackie Chan. We hope that our friends in Hong Kong will also extend their hand of friendship to us,? Lacierda said when told of the actor?s tweets.

Hong Kong?s Filipino community, which includes legions of vulnerable domestic helpers, on Wednesday voiced fears of retribution following the bloody end to the hostage drama in Manila.

The main Filipino labor union said there had been at least one sacking of a maid by a Hong Kong employer who was angry over the siege in which a former policeman seized a busload of Hong Kong tourists.

?This (sacking) is directly related to this incident,? Eman Villanueva, vice chair of the Filipino Migrant Workers? Union, told a news conference without giving further details.

There are as many as 200,000 Filipinos living in the southern Chinese city, the vast majority of them female maids working for low wages. Some have complained of being threatened or harassed, labor groups said.

?(Helpers) can be sacked without explanation under Hong Kong labor laws,? Elizabeth Tang, chief executive of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, told reporters. ?That?s why we?re worried about people venting their anger and frustration against domestic helpers.?

Protests in HK

Several protests have been held at the Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong since Monday, with some angry activists shouting at the consular staff.

About 70,000 people have signed on to a Facebook page set up by the Hong Kong government for citizens to mourn the hostage victims. Many of the messages are respectful. But the Internet is also awash with abuse of Filipinos.

Mr. Aquino?s own Facebook page has been swamped with angry comments, from barbs against bungling policemen to calls for him to quit.

?I have already told my Filipino maid to find another job. I have decided to hire a local Hong Kong granny or a new immigrant from mainland China to be my domestic helper,? Angel Hong wrote on the Facebook memorial page.

Raine Kan wrote: ?I will never again go to the Philippines. I will also ask my children and grandchildren not to go to this country!!!?

Mr. Aquino indicated that Filipinos would have to deal with the Hong Kong people?s anger because of the deaths of their countrymen. ?We understand the grief that produces the sense of outrage and the anger that emanates as an expression of the grief that they are experiencing,? he said.

?We hope that we could have done better, but there is a tragic loss of life and we will have to bear accepting this anger because letting it out would be healthy to the relations of both our country and the special administrative region and as well as the People?s Republic (of China),? Mr. Aquino said.

High-level delegation

The President said a high-level delegation would be sent to explain to Hong Kong authorities what transpired at the Quirino Grandstand on Monday. It will be composed of Vice President Jejomar Binay, Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo and Lacierda.

?We had received reports that there is at least from his [Tsang?s] end a scaling-down of the rhetoric that is being expressed at this current time,? Mr. Aquino said.

Dolores Balladares, chair of the United Filipinos in Hong Kong community group, said ?Filipino migrant workers here share the Hong Kong people?s shock and dismay at how poorly the crisis situation was handled.?

?Some of President Aquino?s statements immediately after the incident lacked sensitivity and sensibility. Instead of pointing to poor crisis management, he compared it to other tragic hostage-taking incidents in Russia and Germany,? she said.

?These insensitive comments do not help in healing the wounds and to assure the Hong Kong people.?

Tsang has called for unity, saying Hong Kong?s Filipino residents ?share our sorrow and frustration.? Earlier, he had told the media that he was disappointed with how the situation ended.

Peace-loving

?I hope the international community will not put this against the Filipino,? Bishop Nereo Odchimar, president of the Catholic Bishops? Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said in a brief statement over the Church-run Radio Veritas.

?Although they may say this is an isolated case, this incident does not reflect the peace-loving attitude of the Filipinos,? Odchimar said.

Fr. Robert Reyes, who is working with the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission, said the hostage crisis was expected to have a repercussion on the Filipinos.

The tragedy could only fuel more discrimination and abuse among Filipino domestic helpers, he said.

?Even without the violent hostage-taking, several Filipinos here are already suffering from discrimination and abuse and the incident may be used to justify more of the latter,? Reyes said in a text message to reporters Wednesday.

He added: ?We need wise, proactive thinking to respond appropriately and honestly without pushing the panic button.?

Smacks of racism

Hong Kong?s South China Morning Post said retribution against Filipinos was misplaced and ?smacks of racism.?

?They are as much innocent bystanders to the tragedy as we are and deserve to be treated as such,? the daily said in an editorial.

Lacierda said Hong Kong?s point man in the coordination efforts between the two governments, Guo Shao Chuen, had viewed the tragedy as an isolated one that should not affect bilateral relations.

The Philippine government is shouldering the mortuary and hospitalization expenses of the victims.

Bishop Odchimar prayed that justice be served to the victims and their families, and the survivors to recover from it ?because it would take some time before they may be able to regain their composure and their psychological stability.? With a report from Agence France-Presse