Poaching, bribery raps set vs Chinese

MANILA, Philippines - The 12 crewmen of the Chinese fishing vessel that ran aground at the Tubbataha marine reservation late Monday night would face several charges including poaching, the Tubbataha Management Office (TMO) said yesterday.

Complaints for violations of various provisions of Republic Act 10067 or the Tubbataha Act of 2009 – poaching by foreigners, unauthorized entry, damage to the reefs and destroying and disturbing resources – will be filed against the Chinese, the TMO said.

The 12 will also face administrative charges plus a complaint for corruption of public officials for attempting to bribe Tubbataha marine park rangers with $2,400.

“Marine park rangers have custody of the $2,400 with which the fishers reportedly attempted to bribe them,” according to an article posted on the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park website.

Park rangers reported that fishing nets were on board the vessel although no fish or marine life was found.

The TMO said several agencies worked together for the filing of charges against the 12 arrested foreigners who arrived in Puerto Princesa City yesterday morning on board the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel 3503.

These agencies are the PCG, Philippine Navy, Palawan Council for Sustainable Development, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Western Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Bureau of Customs, Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the municipality of Cagayancillo.

President Aquino gave assurance that the Chinese poachers will face the full force of the law.

The TMO said Min Long Yu was the seventh Chinese fishing vessel caught inside Tubbataha since 2002.

PCG to refloat, de-fuel Chinese vessel

The PCG plans to de-fuel and offload heavy cargo from the Chinese fishing vessel in a bid to refloat it.

PCG commander Rear Admiral Rodolfo Isorena said they would extract at least 80,000 liters of fuel.

“We hope the vessel will refloat on its own once its heavy load and fuel are removed,” Isorena said.

Commodore Enrico Efren Evangelista, PCG-Palawan District commander, said they were waiting for PCG vessel AE 91 or BRP Corregidor to arrive from Manila to begin the offloading.

Evangelista said it is taking time for the ship to arrive in Tubattaha because it only has a speed of nine knots.

He said the refloating is possible since a check made by marine park rangers showed that the bottom of the fishing vessel was still intact.

“When we have lightened it and it has floated, we can pull it out of there… That way, we remove it with less or no damage to the reef,” he said.

Isorena said the PCG also plans to lease the services of local salvor Malayan Towage to help in the removal of the grounded Chinese fishing vessel if refloating efforts will not succeed.

Isorena told abs-cbnnews.com the government could end up paying for the cost of the salvage operation.

“Normally, in PCG regulation, if there is a salvage operation, the owner of the vessel is the one supposed to be in charge of paying for all the expenses. If the vessel has no owner (or is not present), then the Coast Guard will lead the salvage operation,” Isorena told reporters at a press conference.

Isorena said the Philippine government cannot compel the Chinese government to pay the cost of salvage operations since the vessel is privately owned.

He said they would instead ask the Chinese embassy to help in identifying the owner of the fishing vessel.

The PCG is also looking into confiscating the vessel to offset the cost of salvage operations.

Isorena said a representative from the Chinese embassy had called him to appeal that the fishermen under custody of the Palawan Provincial Committee on Illegal Entrants (PCIE) be treated “humanely.”

Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said the fishermen are under the custody of the Palawan PCIE.

Consul General Shen Zicheng and Third Secretary Li Jian of the Chinese embassy visited yesterday the fishermen and checked on their condition. The embassy official also asked for the release of the 12 fishermen.

Chinese spies?

Meanwhile, a military source raised suspicion that the 12 Chinese crewmembers were not fishermen but were conducting spying operations in the country’s maritime domain.

“From their looks, they’re not the typical Chinese fishermen we used to arrest and charge in court for illegal fishing and poaching within our territorial waters,” said a military source, who examined the suspects when they were taken to a military hospital in Palawan yesterday.

Another source said China could have been highly suspicious over the grounding of the USS Guardian in Tubbataha, and could have dispatched its own people to conduct a random check on the area.

“We will know these things once the investigation being conducted by concerned authorities surrounding the grounding is done,” another senior security official said.

More lighted buoys, wider buffer zone

The President said the government is planning to place more lighted buoys and widen the buffer zone around Tubbataha Reef to prevent another grounding incident and protect it from intruders.

“It is really in the national interest to preserve this to the fullest extent possible as it’s really one of the natural wonders of the world,” the President said.

Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., a licensed diver, presented the plan to the President.  – With Jaime Laude, Rhodina Villanueva, Delon Porcalla, Paolo Romero, Marvin Sy, Alexis Romero, Pia Lee-Brago