Suarez foregoes plan to file resolution on ramming incident

House minority leader Danilo Suarez. Karen Boncocan/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — House minority leader Danilo Suarez would have filed a resolution on the alleged ramming incident of a foreign vessel on a local fishing boat but decided against it due to contentious issues on whether there had been a ramming incident or not.

“It’s a resolution for the incident on the premise that it (fishing boat Axl John) was rammed. Apparently the ramming incident did not happen… How do you file a resolution?” he asked reporters during a press briefing at the House of Representatives.

He said that if Axl John was indeed rammed, then it would be a “very serious issue.”

“Right now it appears that it was in the shipping lane, far from Panatag Shoal,” said Suarez, adding that he will only file a resolution on the matter when there is a clear basis for him to do so.

Philippine fishing boat Axl John’s sinking after it was allegedly hit by a large foreign cargo vessel left one of its crew dead, three injured and four more missing.

Attention has meanwhile shifted from blaming a Chinese vessel for the mishap to survivors’ accounts that may hold clues as to the identity of the ship responsible for the incident, as they revealed seeing “Hong Kong” and other markings similar to Chinese characters on the vessel’s rear.

One of the survivors also revealed doubts on Hong Kong-registered bulk carrier MV Peach Mountain being the culprit.

The Philippine Coast Guard said last Monday that it suspected MV Peach Mountain since it was monitored off Zambales the morning of the incident.