Staff of Chinese embassy in Manila, tourist group members, victims' relatives and Philippine government officials attend a ceremony at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila, capital of the Philippines, Aug. 25, 2010. The plane carrying tourist group members, victims' relatives and the remains of the eight Hong Kong tourists killed on Monday's hostage-taking in the Philippines flew back home on Wednesday. Photo: Xinhua

Aug. 23, Monday, was supposed to be the last day of the 21 Hong Kong tourists who were in a leisure visit in the Philippines.

Two days after, eight of them were finally on their way home -- but in body bags.

The tourists were killed on Monday after a dismissed police officer held them hostage for more than 11 hours which resulted in the bloody tragedy that gripped international headlines and sent the Philippines and Hong Kong mourning on Wednesday.

The coffins bearing the bodies of the victims, along with some of the survivors and their kins, left in a chartered plane of Cathay Pacific flight number CX 2903. Some Hong Kong government officials accompanied them.

A bouquet of white roses were put on top of the coffins which were covered in plastics to protect it from the downpour of rain.

On Tuesday, a Buddhist memorial ceremony was held at the site of the crime in Quirino Grandstand in Philippines' capital, while the Philippine government held another send-off ceremony at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Wednesday.

Dressed in their white uniforms, over 20 sailors of the Philippine Navy acted as pall-bearers and rendered plane-side honors as the remains of the eight victims were flown from NAIA to Hong Kong via a Cathay Pacific flight.

In observance of the Chinese tradition, there was no marching band and the sailors did not carry firearms.

Navy spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Edgard Arevalo said in an interview with the local press that he could not recall any time in recent years when a foreigner was provided military send-off honors.

Such events were usually reserved only for military personnel killed on duty, dignitaries and civilians regarded as "heroes", he said.

"The act is the Navy's gesture of showing sympathy to the people of Hong Kong," the Navy said.

The send-off ceremony was attended by top Philippine government officials such as Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, Interior, Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Soliman, and Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III told reporters late Wednesday afternoon that Vice President Jejomar Binay, Lacierda, and Romulo will go to Beijing to personally send the report on the hostage incident to Chinese President Hu Jintao before heading to Hong Kong to deliver the report to Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang. He however did not provide any date.

"The Filipino nation join Hong Kong and its people in this time of grief, and reiterate their deep regret over the loss of innocent lives in this tragic event," Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday.

Aquino declared Aug. 25 as day of national mourning for the victims of Monday's bloody hostage-taking incident. Philippine flags at various government agencies and the country's embassies and consulates abroad, were lowered in half-mast as an expression of mourning.

The Philippine Senate has already promised a full investigation on the incident after the botched attempt to rescue the hostages.

The government has also created an inter-agency committee that would investigate the incident and recommend administrative or criminal sanctions to police officials who failed to resolve the hostage-taking incident sooner and with little or no bloodshed.

The Incident Review Committee was convened for the first time Wednesday night.

Also Wednesday morning, four members of the Special Weapons and Tactics team had been "administratively relieved" from their positions pending the results of the investigation. The government had said that there will be an examination of the bullets that were found at the scene of the bloodbath after reports from the Philippine National Police said that autopsy reports revealed that the victims died of gunshot wounds.

The chief of Manila's police district, Chief Supt. Rodolfo Magtibay, who handled Monday's hostage crisis has also offered his leave of absence, saying that he is taking the full blame over the police's response towards the incident.

The eleven-hour long hostage-taking incident in the Philippine capital ended with eight tourists from Hong Kong dead. The hostage taker, dismissed police Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza, was also killed during the crossfire with the police forces.

Mendoza seized the tourist bus early Monday morning and demanded to be reinstated to his former post. At least 25 people, mostly Hong Kong visitors, were aboard the bus.

The Philippine government said it had provided full assistance to the victims and their families, including the immediate repatriation of the remains of those who perished, shouldering the hospitalization, accommodations and other expenses of the injured and their relatives, and psychosocial counseling to all who were affected by the incident.