The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government will scrutinize the Philippines' first report on the hostage-taking incident, and expects the Philippine authorities to step up efforts to complete the work as soon as possible, said a Hong Kong government spokesman on Monday.

Philippine President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III answers media queries on the final report of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) regarding the August 23 bus hijacking where eight Hong Kong tourists were killed, during a news conference at Malacanang palace in Manila September 20, 2010.

The HKSAR government on Monday received from the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in Hong Kong a copy of the first report of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee of the Philippines on the hostage-taking incident in Manila.

The HKSAR government needs time to scrutinize the lengthy document, said the spokesman.

He said the committee has not been evasive in confronting the critical questions, whose positive attitude deserves to be acknowledged, and the committee has demonstrated its sincere efforts in working against time and relative physical constraints in completing its first report.

The spokesman said the report gives a detailed account of the incident and contains severe criticisms of the key responsible Philippine officials for their lapses of judgment and the way they handled the matter. It also recommends that the relevant officials be held responsible and actions be taken against them accordingly.