Skipper fine with joint probe on Recto Bank collision

Junel Insigne, skipper of the Gem-Vir 1, with 20-year-old daughter Janelle at home in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro. (Photo by JANELLE INSIGNE)

SAN JOSE, Occidental Mindoro — Junel Insigne, the captain of the F/B Gem-Vir 1, appealed to authorities to help prevent a repeat of the allision at the Recto Bank that involved a Chinese fishing vessel.

Insigne, who seemed uneasy with questions related to the government’s handling of the case, said he approved of the joint investigation between Philippines and China.

“Mas maganda po ‘yun ganoon para ‘di na maulit, (That would be better so it wouldn’t be repeated)” he said in their home here.

On Saturday, another Filipino fishing boat returned here from weeks of fishing at the Recto Bank.

“’Our companions were really on their way there (Recto Bank),” he said.

Crew member Jaypee Gardiones, one of the two boatmen who paddled to ask help from the Vietnamese boat, said they also asked the government to help beef up maritime security at the Recto Bank.

Gardiones, 30, said he had not heard of the joint investigation.

Insigne said he was not sure if the Chinese boat intentionally rammed their boat but reiterated his position “to hold the Chinese boat captain accountable” for leaving them in the water. (Editor: Leti Z. Boniol)