(UPDATE) Philippines welcomes lifting of sanctions by Taiwan

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine government welcomed today Taiwan authorities' move to lift its 11 sanctions against Manila as it hoped relations between Manila and Taipei would normalize soon.

"Hopefully these recent developments will contribute to the resolution of the issue and will return relations to normal," said Philippines' Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte in a phone patch interview.

Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou ordered Thursday night the lifting of all sanctions against the Philippines over the fatal firing upon a Taiwan fishing vessel by Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) officers in May after Manila's National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) recommended the filing of homicide charges against eight PCG members who were involved in the killing.

A letter of apology on behalf of the Filipino people and President Benigno Aquino III was also delivered by Manila Economic and Cultural Office head Amadeo Perez to the fisherman's family.

Following the incident, Taiwan slapped a slew of sanctions against Manila, including a freeze on hiring of new Filipino workers to the island and a travel ban to rebuff Manila's response to the incident.