Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The country’s go-between with Taiwan has come under fire for reportedly proposing a joint investigation of the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by Philippine Coast Guard personnel without authorization from President Aquino.
As the government grappled with the fallout, the President called the attention of Antonio Basilio over his move which Aquino overruled, prompting criticisms he had flip-flopped on the matter, Malacañang said.
Undersecretary Abigail Valte said the President sought clarification from the permanent representative in the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) over his letter agreeing to a joint investigation, but there was no response yet.
“Some questions have been raised because of that and the President has made the proper inquiries on it,’’ Valte, deputy presidential spokesperson, said in a briefing.
Valte said that the President’s formal apology conveyed by MECO chair Amadeo Perez Wednesday last week to Taiwan was the only one authorized by Aquino.
Basilio, however, maintained that he had never mentioned joint investigation in his May 10 and May 14 letters to his Taiwanese counterparts, or in his meetings with Taiwanese officials.
He said he merely raised the idea that investigators from Taipei and Manila get equal access to evidence and witnesses, or a parallel investigation, and this could have been misunderstood by the Taiwanese as a joint investigation.
“What I said is that you will have access to evidence, and your team will coordinate with us, and vice versa,’’ he said by phone Monday afternoon. “I don’t know where the term came from. It’s very clear they can send a team here to meet with our team, but they will conduct separate investigation.’’
Basilio said he has issued an internal memorandum to explain his side.
A team of Taiwanese investigators who arrived in Manila last week to investigate the fatal shooting of Hung Shih-cheng had accused Manila of reneging on an agreement to mount a joint investigation.
They said Basilio agreed to such a move in Taipei. Mr. Aquino, however, said he had tasked the National Bureau of Investigation to do an impartial investigation in the formal apology conveyed by Perez.
“I can tell you that only the last letter that was transmitted to them was authorized by the President,’’ Valte said. She said there was no time-table for the completion of the NBI investigation. She also ruled out the deployment of emissaries to Taipei pending the NBI investigation.
“I guess when they went home, they had to explain themselves and I was used to justify [their position],’’ Basilio said of the Taiwanese investigators.
The Coast Guard personnel claimed that the fishing boat intruded into Philippine waters and tried to ram their patrol boat.
Despite the misimpression that Basilio’s move created on the Taiwanese, Basilio remained as the country’s permanent representative in MECO, Malacañang said.
“He continues to be in contact with his counterparts there,’’ she said when asked if Basilio would be replaced.
Until the Taiwanese investigators raised the issue of joint investigation, Basilio said he had built goodwill by visiting the widow of Hung and a survivor, and expressed apology over the loss of life. He said this was well-received by the Taiwanese.
“I feel I did my best. I tried to be as honest and forthright with them,’’ he said on how he felt about coming under fire. “I still have very good lines of communication.’’
“At the end of the day, the truth will come out. That’s when we will respond,’’ he added.
Meanwhile, Aquino raised questions on the actuation of the Filipino coast guards who sailed away after the shooting.
“He did ask—and I was there during the briefing—he did ask this particular question: `After the Coast Guard had effectively neutralized the other vessel by firing at the machinery part, why did they leave?’ That was one of the questions that the President asked,’’ Valte said.
“So, looking forward, we do hope to see some definition or some ending to the questions that the President raised during the initial briefing that was given to him,’’ she added.
The Coast Guard personnel said they acted in self-defense.
Aquino also expressed concerns over reports of violence against Filipinos in Taiwan, but gave strict instructions to verify these accounts, Valte said.
“Of course, the President was very concerned about these reports. But he did make the cautionary note that these reports should be verified by us independently, and that if we do verify them at the soonest—at the juncture that we do verify these incidents, that we should immediately render assistance,’’ she said.
The government confirmed attacks on two Filipinos — Danilo Taperla and Florentino Hernandez — by youngsters wielding a baseball bat, and was verifying another incidence of violence.
Basilio said these were carried out by gangs riding scooters. He said hotlines were set up by MECO that victims of Filipinos could call for assistance.
Valte said calls for the abolition of MECO have not been tackled.