Justice Secretary Leila De Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Tuesday a video clip of the shooting incident involving the Philippine Coast Guard and a Taiwanese fishing vessel in the Balintang Channel was “very revealing” and “helpful to the investigation.”
She said the video, as part of the report of the National Bureau of Investigation, will be released “in due time.”
“There will be premature conclusions if we release the video already. It’s just part of the whole report,” De Lima told reporters after a closed-door conference with the investigating team at the NBI headquarters in Manila.
The May 9 killing of fisherman Hung Shih-chen allegedly by the Coast Guard has sparked outrage in Taiwan.
The Coast Guard said the fishing vessel had intruded into Philippine waters and tried to ram its patrol boat.
President Benigno Aquino III ordered an investigation into the incident.
De Lima said the NBI team was ready and just waiting for the clearance to go to Taiwan, adding that the partial report so far was “substantive.”
“More or less, there’s a clearer picture. But we reiterate that the result would be more exhaustive, thorough and complete if the NBI team’s requests are granted, especially the inspection of the Taiwanese fishing vessel,” she said.
De Lima said the team will also try to talk to other members of the crew and request a re-autopsy of the victim if the family will allow it.
“Just like our policy here, we cannot force the family of a deceased person to allow a re-autopsy if they don’t want to,” she said.