HONG KONG, August 24, 2010 (AFP) - A Hong Kong woman whose husband and two daughters were among eight tourists killed in a bus hostage siege in Manila tearfully blamed Philippine authorities on Tuesday for the tragedy.

The survivor, who identified herself only as Mrs Leung, sat sobbing outside a hospital in Manila after the deaths of her two daughters—aged 14 and 21 -- were confirmed.

Her 18-year-old son was in intensive care with a serious head injury, according to media reports.

Leung said her husband was killed during the siege Monday as he tried to stop ex-policeman Rolando Mendoza from attacking other passengers on the tourist bus. The family of five were on holiday together in Manila.

“The Philippine government... I can’t accept this. Why did they do this to us?” she told Hong Kong government representatives who flew to Manila in the aftermath, in comments shown on Cable News TV.

Leung condemned Philippine authorities for intervening only after a 12-hour standoff with Mendoza, a disgruntled former senior officer who wanted his job back with the police force.

“(The gunman) did not want to kill us. He only shot us after the negotiation failed,” she said.

“Why didn’t they give him money? I don’t understand why they couldn’t give him money.”

Leung said she had pretended to be dead on the bus so that she could escape the siege and “take care of my children”.

“But two of them are dead.”

As she was pulled from the bus Monday night, Leung told reporters she did not know the whereabouts of her three children, but said her husband had died a hero.

“He was very brave. He rushed forward to try to prevent the hostage taker from killing people and sacrificed himself,” she said.

The tragedy started when Mendoza, armed with an M-16 assault rifle, hijacked the busload of Hong Kong visitors in Manila’s tourist district.

According to Philippine authorities, negotiations broke down after nightfall when the gunman began shooting the passengers, and commandos stormed the bus.

Police said Mendoza was shot dead by a sniper after he used his captives as “human shields” in the final moments of the siege.

Niño Lim in an intimate ceremony held at the Hotel Maya in Long Beach, California. The couple, who were married in a garden Jewish interfaith ceremony, only invited around 120 close friends and family, successfully avoiding a media circus and opting for a highly private affair.

Ranillo and Lim are childhood sweethearts who reunited when they met again several years later. They have always been private about their relationship, with Ranillo telling BALITA MEDIA in an interview last June only that her boyfriend was a "businessman."

But now that the wedding is over and out in the open, Ranillo is ready to tell her story.

"We met when we were younger, we're more of kababatas," Ranillo tells BALITA MEDIA.

"Our families are good friends. We were able to catch up late last year when I spent a longer time here in the States. He was such a good friend and listener to me. We'd hang out and have dinner, watch movies, nothing romantic really but we were building a friendship."

But of course, what started out as a meaningful friendship became something much more.

"For me, I was just happy being with him – it didn't matter what we did or where we were but being in his very presence made me feel happy already," Ranillo says when asked how she knew Jeff was "the One".

"There were times when I made excuses to my mom so I could come home late (sorry mom!) and spend the whole day with him. I also realized that aside from being a great friend, there were so many qualities in him that I admired. I always tell people that ‘nakahanap ako ng katapat ko.’ I like that he's smart and very sensible – he provides stability and order in my life and I provide the fun and craziness in his. We really complement each other.

And of course, he's cute so that adds 2,000 pogi points!," Ranillo laughs.

　Overall, the wedding last Sunday was a very casual and festive affair, devoid of the formalities that you'd expect in a typical traditional wedding – a reflection of the couple’s more modern sensibilities. Perhaps nothing illustrates this more than the couple choosing to wed in a Jewish ceremony, though they are both Catholic.

"We're both Catholic but a couple of days before the wedding, I brought Jeff to the venue and there was a Jewish wedding that was ongoing. We listened to their ceremony and right after we spoke to the Rabbi and scheduled an appointment with him," Ranillo explains.

"We both saw that the Jewish ceremony had meaningful rituals that symbolized the union of husband and wife. We wanted a unique and meaningful ceremony."

In fact, this desire for a "unique" ceremony carried over to the entire wedding, with the couple opting for a much more contemporary celebration than your typical wedding reception.

"We were only planning it [the wedding] for a couple of weeks," Krista shares.

"I wanted the venue to be hip, modern and fun. We wanted a private and intimate wedding so that we could be ourselves."

Guests were treated to such private details as Ranillo’s personal wedding playlist, which included romantic tunes like "Love Story" by Taylor Swift, "I’ll Be" by Edwin McCain and "Viva la Vida" by Coldplay. Guests enjoyed Mexican and Latin American cuisine prepared by award-winning Executive Chef Jesse Perez of the Hotel Maya, and giveaways included wine bottles emblazoned with "Blame it on the Alcohol" (a reference to Jamie Foxx’s hit song of the same title) and candy bars that had M&M’s with the couple’s picture and names printed on it.

Guests dined outdoors with the Long Beach skyline as their view, and boarded a yacht for the latter part of the evening. They went on a four hour cruise complete with a club-themed setup, dancing to the music of DJ Tommy T (Tom Taus) until the wee hours of the morning. While the dancing took place on the upper deck of the yacht, guests also let loose with videoke on the lower deck. And of course, it was an open bar all night long.

"It was fun!", Ranillo says simply.

"I really enjoyed both our weddings. The first one [a civil ceremony in Norwalk, Connecticut last July 14], it was just the two of us and we ate at a burger place afterwards. It was really intimate. The second wedding was meaningful too because we had our friends and families present."

Although Ranillo is perhaps best known for her role in "Wapakman" opposite boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao, and the subsequent rumors of an affair with the now Sarangani congressman, it would seem that this controversial part of her life is now firmly in the past. In an interview with Philippine Star, Manny himself commented on the wedding, saying, "I wish them well."

"At least wala nang masasabi ang mga tao na kami pa din, na may relasyon kaming dalawa. Pero at least, tapos na ‘yon. Hindi na sila magdududa.