Report: 9 HK journos who shouted questions at PNoy barred from PHL-hosted APEC

Nine Hong Kong journalists who shouted questions at President Benigno Aquino III during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bali, Indonesia last year have been barred from covering the APEC in the Philippines for 2015, a Hong Kong news site said Friday.

Radio Television Hong Kong reported one of the nine, a cameraman for Now TV, was denied entry to the Philippines on Thursday and informed by immigration officers of his inclusion on a blacklist.

Quoting the supposed letter, the RTHK report said the Office of the President barred the nine from entering the Philippines to cover the APEC summit.

It added the nine journalists were described by the Office of the President as "undesirable."

The RTHK report said the three broadcasters expressed extreme regret over the blacklist and said it was far from reasonable.

It said the three would seek help from the SAR government and the Foreign Affairs Office in a bid to get the ban lifted.

The Philippines will host the APEC summit. Hong Kong is one of the APEC's member economies.

Shouting incident

During last year's summit, the Hong Kong reporters representing RTHK, Now TV and Commercial Radio, yelled questions at Aquino regarding the 2010 hostage crisis in Manila in which eight Hong Kong residents were killed.

Aquino was walking into one of the conference rooms when the Hong Kong reporters started yelling questioning at him. "Sir, will you meet CY Leung?" they asked. "Why don't you respond to the Hong Kong officials?" and, "Will you apologize? Please answer the question!"

Aquino ignored the questions.

Shortly after the "shouting" incident, APEC staff confiscated the Hong Kong reporters' credentials, and barred them from the conference.

"Don't you have any decency? Don't you know it's rude to shout? You have no decency. Now get out!" reportedly said a female APEC staff member to one of the Hong Kong reporters.

Another staffer said, "You have embarrassed one of our visitors." — Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News