PCG describes Balintang Channel incident - 'like a scene from an action movie'
By Leonard D. Postrado
Published: May 16, 2013
Pingtung,TAIWAN - Taiwan policemen inspect bullet holes on the damaged "Guang Ta Hsin 28 " fishing boat (C) at Liuqiu harbor, southern Pingtung county early on May 11, 2013. The Philippines admitted on May 10 that its coastguard fired at a Taiwanese fishing boat in an incident that authorities in Taipei said left a crewman dead and triggered widespread outrage on the island. AFP PHOTO
The way the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) described the May 9 shooting of Taiwanese fishermen off the coast of Balintang island was like telling a scene out of an action movie: a government vessel precariously dodging two fishing boats that tried to sink the law enforcer's ship as they engaged the bad guys in a high seas chase.
A three-page, incident report of the PCG that was obtained by the Manila Bulletin from a PCG insider showed how the Taiwanese fishermen violently and dangerously tried to evade their arrest after they were caught poaching at the sea located some 39 nautical miles off Bantayan Island.
The report, which was corroborated by a video on the maritime incident in Balintang Channel last May 9 that resulted to the death of a 65-year-old Taiwanese fisherman, was among the documents submitted by the PCG to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) since the bureau commenced its investigation on Wednesday.
“One of the Taiwanese vessel maneuvered to ramp our starboard bow. This unit executed reverse [gear] to avoid collision,” said the PCG report.
Based on the report, the MCS-3001, a 35-meter vessel jointly manned by the Coast Guard and personnel from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), set sail in the northern part of Batanes last May 8, 2013, to conduct seaborne patrol and monitoring control and surveillance against illegal fishing.
The following day, the PCG-BFAR spotted several radio beacon with two floating buoy markers some 39 nautical miles, east of Balintang Islands. They suspected that the buoys were long lines of Taiwanese fishing vessels. Soon after spotting the buoys, the PCG-BFAR was able to find the location of the Taiwanese fishing boats.
They claimed that the Taiwanese fishermen had resisted to stop from their tracks while local sea authorities repeatedly fired warning shots in mid-air and blared their vessel's horn at the foreigners.
“While on meeting situation, this unit then sounded warning through PA system and blow horn for the Taiwanese fishing vessel to stop for the conduct of fishing.. [The PCG] fired warning shots to alert the fishing vessel until the fishing vessel stopped and one of the crew of the fishing vesseel went outside,” the PCG said.
But when the MCS-3001 vessel of PCG-BFAR was almost alongside of one of the fishing boat named Guang Ta Hsin-28, the PCG claimed that the engine of the Taiwanese vessel whirred to life, and the boat manuevered backward before speeding forward and it almost collided with the government ship's stern.
The patient Philippine authorities fired another round of warning shots but the Taiwanese vessel resisted to stop and engaged the PCG-BFAR in a high-speed sea chase. As a result, the commanding officer of the MCS-3001 ordered to open fire at Guang Ta Hsin-28 to disable its engine but accidentally killed Taiwanese fisherman named Hung Shih-cheng.
“To stop the fishing vessel, this unit announced to fire for effects the engine side section of said Taiwanese fishing vessel to immobilize her [boat] and stop her [boat] engine,” the report said.
While chasing after Guang Ta Hsin, the PCG-BFAR spotted at least two, new unidentified boats - one white and one gray – and this prompt them to disengage from their chase and leave as they were already outnumbered.
Meanwhile, a Department of Justice (DOJ) source, who refused to be named for the lack of authority to speak, confirmed that the NBI had already interviewed at least five to seven BFAR personnel who were with the PCG during the May 9, 2013 high-sea shooting incident.
The source said that the testimony of BFAR personnel will be useful in order for probers to determine the truthfulness of the three-page report submitted by the PCG and on whether the Coast Guard observed the so-called rules of engagement.
“Very crucial ang testimony nila kasi what we will know from them what could be the basis of the coast guard to fire at the Taiwanese. BFAR owned the vessel but the Coast Guard manages it so the PCG is in control at the time of the incident,” the source explained.
The source also confirmed that the NBI has already asked more or less than 15 PCG personnel to appear before the bureau today in order to give their seperate statements.
On Wednesday, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said they have started a fact-finding investigation on the death of a 65-year old Taiwanese fisherman who was shot dead personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) last week after their fishing vessel strayed into Philippine territorial waters.
NBI Director Nonnatus Caesar Rojas said the composite team made up of agents, technical people, forensic experts and lawyers is headed by NBI Deputy Director for Regional Operation Services Atty. Virgilio Mendez.
“We have to do this investigation as fast as we can, We are ready with this. All out ang effort dito and this would involve as many bureau personnel and as much resources as we can in order to finished this as soon as possible to come up with a credible and exhaustive result,” Rojas told reporters yesterday afternoon.
As a fact-finding probe, Rojas said the team would investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident , the reason why the death happened and other surrounding circumstances and other matter related to the case.
He said they have already made preliminary discussions with the PCG on the investigation and that the PCG Commandant Rear Admiral Rodolfo Isorena has assured them of their cooperation.
“As far as the NBI is concerned we would do a credible, exhaustive, honest-to-goodness investigation and we are also very thankful to the PCG that they have signified this early their full cooperation and support,” he added.
For his part, Mendez said they have made a request to the PCG for the turn-over of the firearms of the Coast Guard personnel on board the patrol craft that figured in the incident with the Taiwanese fishing vessel at Balintang Channel near Batanes in extreme Northern Luzon.
Killed the incident was Hung Shih-cheng. His son-in-law and an Indonesian fisherman were also on board the vessel “Kuang Ta Hsing No.28 when the shots were fired.
“That is the action that we initially took. We made a formal request for documents and the turn-over of firearms,” Mendez said adding that they were assured by Isorena of their cooperation.
He said they also asked the PCG to furnish them the list of the crew of the patrol craft and pictures and videos of the incident if there are.
Mendez also said that they are prepared to send a team to Taiwan if they will be able to acquire the necessary clearance so that they can also take a look at the fishing vessel and interview their crew.
There are currently 87,000 OFWs Taiwan, mostly working in the electronics and textile industry sectors, and labor authorities said nearly 2,000 new applications are submitted monthly.
Two years ago, Taiwan also temporarily expanded the screening period for OFWs and threatened to freeze hiring over a diplomatic row sparked when Manila deported Taiwanese nationals involved in a scam to China.
