PHOTO FROM PNP-PIO
MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine National Police (PNP) declined Thursday to officially confirm the nationality of 11 fishermen who were arrested after being caught shipping live green sea turtles.
The men were initially reported as Chinese. Their vessel was also seized by the maritime police off Palawan.
Chief Superintendent Noel Lazarus Vargas, PNP Maritime Group chief, said in a press briefing that the police couldn’t deduce yet whether the arrested crewmen are all Chinese.
”We can’t identify them yet not until we start the questioning,” he said.
On Tuesday, the maritime police captured a Chinese fishing vessel found carrying about 500 endangered sea turtles off Hasa-Hasa (Half Moon) Shoal some 106 kilometers off Palawan in the disputed waters of the West Philippines Sea.
The seizure of the boat drew the ire of China and demanded the release of the boat and its crew.
The arrested men, however, are now currently under the custody of the police at the special boat unit of the maritime group.
“Although the (captured fishing vessel) was bearing a Chinese flag, we cannot assume that the crew are all Chinese,” pointed out Vargas.
The official said the police will have to “talk and identify” first the suspects before they confirm their nationalities.
Echoing the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in its statement on Wednesday, the maritime police official assured that the fishermen are being “treated humanely.”
The PNP also disputed a report of the Chinese newswire Xinhua News Agency that armed men forced onto the fishing boats and fired about five shots in the air.
“As far as the PNP Maritime Group is concerned, we did not fire shots,” Vargas said.
Meanwhile, as China claims that the Half Moon shoal is part of its territory, the PNP has an answer.
Director General Alan Purisima, PNP chief, said in the briefing: “That’s their assertion. Our assertion is that it’s ours. It’s part of the Philippine territory.”
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