Lawyer hopes new admin will defend PCG role in Balintang shooting

A lawyer for the members of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) criminally charged for the death of a Taiwanese fisherman three years ago is hoping that the incoming administration will give respect not only to PCG but to other law enforcement agency personnel who are risking their lives to protect the national territory.

“More important, we hope that the incoming dispensation will see the errors of its predecessor in playing Judas by selling out its own men for thirty pieces of silver,” Atty. Rodrigo Moreno said in a statement Thursday.

Moreno said the lives and liberty of the PCG personnel who were implicated in the incident are still in limbo, three years after the incident when all they did was fulfill their duty of interdicting poachers and defending the national sovereignty.

READ: PCG men say they acted in self-defense

Last May 9, 2013, a fisherman was killed after the PCG personnel were on board a vessel of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, patrolling off the coast of Balintang island when they intercepted the Taiwanese fishing vessel allegedly poaching.

After a brief sea chase, they fired at the fishing vessel, killing the Taiwanese fisherman.

He said the current government should not have filed a case against the PCG men.

“This is because it seems that the government suffers from some sort of institutional schizophrenia; while it’s mandate is to protect national territory and uphold sovereignty through its military and law enforcement arms, when such institutions perform their duty (such as in the case), the government suddenly charges them in court merely to please a foreign nation in order to ensure that Filipino OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) can continue to remit their currency to the Philippines,” he added.

READ: Coast Guard staff in Balintang Channel shooting seek dismissal of homicide raps

Equally offensive, he said, is the Philippine government’s indifference towards the PCG personnel involved in connection with the civil case in Taiwan.

Last month, the Pingtung District Court awarded civil damages to the family of Taiwanese fisherman Hong Shi Cheng saying the PCG officers had the “criminal intent of killing people” when they opened fire at the Taiwanese vessel Guang Da Xing No. 28.

Moreno pointed out that the decision of the Taiwan court has no force and effect in the Philippines.

“Again, let me reiterate that that Taiwan court ruling is of no force and effect in the Philippines, and the PCG personnel will not pay a centavo to Taiwan for doing their jobs. On the contrary, Taiwan should pay the Philippines because its citizens were illegally taking the natural resources of our country,” he said.

Still, Moreno said that based on the evidence presented by the government, they are confident that they will be able to secure the acquittal of the PCG men.

During last month’s cross examination of the Deputy Director of the Criminal Investigation Bureau of Taiwan, the fifth prosecution witness, Moreno said they were able to establish that majority of the shots hit the left rear portion of the Taiwanese boat where the engine was located, meaning the accused were aiming for the engine to disable the boat and not harm anyone. RAM/rga