'No anti-Filipino sentiment in HK'
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The consul general also said the laying-off of two Filipinos maids in Hong Kong after the incident last week has nothing to do with the hostage crisis.
In one case, the employers wanted to take care of their children on their own, and in the other case, the employer was simply not satisfied with the maid's performance, the Philippine consul general added.
There are some 200,000 Filipino migrant workers in Hong Kong, with the majority of them working as live-in domestic helpers, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Ma Ngok, a professor specializing in sociology and politics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, told the Global Times that strong public sentiment in Hong Kong was evident following the hostage crisis, but most people are against the way the Philippine government and police handled the situation.
He said Filipinos are not facing any hatred or racism, as they have greatly contributed to Hong Kong's economic and social development.
"Most of the grandparents and children were taken care of by Filipino helpers. The young people in Hong Kong today are basically brought up by Filipino maids," he said. The Filipino maids helped shape the current family structure in Hong Kong, Ma added.
Cristobal, the consul general, praised tens of thousands of Hong Kong people who participated in Sunday's march for acting rationally, saying they just wanted to see a fair investigation into the case.
Some 26,000 people gathered in Victoria Park on Sunday to mourn the eight victims of last week's hostage crisis, demanding that the Philippine authorities apologize for the tragedy.
With an outpouring of anger and sadness among Chinese mainlanders and Hong Kong people over the hostage crisis, there are also fears that the strong reaction by the Chinese may backfire into anti-Chinese sentiments in the Philippines, the Hong Kong-based news portal, ifeng.com reported.
The report said some anti-Chinese sentiment began surfacing.
Teresita Ang-See, a Filipino-Chinese who works for Citizens Action Against Crime in the Philippines, told the Global Times that there had been no evidence of increased crimes against Filipino-Chinese in the country.
"Ninety percent of Filipino-Chinese are born and raised in the Philippines.
"We are like sisters and brothers to the locals. Chinese are the best-treated in the Philippines among people from other Southeast Asian countries," she said.
She also hoped to see a quick and proper closure of the case.
The Philippines Monday allowed Hong Kong police to examine the bus involved in the standoff.
