Hontiveros: Pursue criminal case vs Chinese ship owner, crew in Recto Bank incident

DESERVING COMPENSATION Fishing boat skipper Junel Insigne, inspecting the damaged FB Gem-Ver 1 in this June 18 file photo, may be pondering his next move after the owner of the Chinese trawler that rammed his vessel and abandoned him and his crew apologized, as announced by the Department of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday. —RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines—Senator Risa Hontiveros is urging government to pursue criminal liabilities against the crew and owner of the Chinese trawler that sank a Filipino fishing boat near Recto Bank in the West Philippine Sea, saying that without “justice” the apology is nothing but an “empty gesture.”

Hontiveros made the call Friday, days after the owner of the Chinese vessel involved in the ramming of the Philippine boat F/B Gem-Ver apologized and expressed openness to take responsibility for the damage incurred by the Filipino fishermen in the incident.

“An apology without justice and compensation is an empty gesture and a sham,” Hontiveros said in a statement.

READ: Two months later, Chinese shipowner apologizes for ‘accident’ with PH boat

The apology of the ship’s owner was coursed through a Chinese fishing association which counts the owner of the trawler involved in the Recto Bank allision as one of its members. However, the names of the Chinese shipowner and its crew were not disclosed.

It only said that the Chinese vessel involved was registered in Guangdong province, a coastal area facing the South China Sea.

Hontiveros also called for an official apology from the Chinese government over the incident.

“It is simply an attempt at an apology to manage its foreign affairs crisis but without any official state approval, recognition or endorsement. Without such an endorsement, the so-called ‘apology’ is nothing but an act of appeasement,” she said.

But in a press briefing in Beijing on Thursday, Philippine Ambassador to Beijing Jose Santiago Sta. Romana said the Chinese government has already sent its apology over the June 10 sinking of F/B Gem-Ver.

Hontiveros also called on the government to ensure that “the Chinese government complies with its responsibility to compensate our fishermen not only for the cost of their destroyed vessel, but also for the loss of livelihood and profit they suffered since the incident.”

The senator further asked President Rodrigo Duterte, who had called the incident a “little maritime accident,” to apologize to the fisherfolk for downplaying the incident, and for “his men’s lack of belief in the accounts of our fishermen and (for) even blaming them for being the victims.”

“President Duterte owes our fishermen and the general public an apology for not performing his mandate, for lawyering for China and for making statements and actions on this matter inimical to our national and sovereign interests,” she added.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has filed a diplomatic protest over the incident, which again placed on spotlight the Duterte administration’s policy on the West Philippine Sea dispute. /muf

READ: Duterte: Sinking of PH fishing boat ‘a little maritime accident’