DOTC targets coddlers of poachers

Transportation and Communications Secretary Pantaleon Alvarez ordered the Coast Guard yesterday to include in a criminal case the Filipino coddlers of 24 Taiwanese fishermen caught poaching in Philippine waters.

The Chinese fishermen, now detained at the Veterans Anchorage in Aparri, Cagayan, are facing charges of falsification of public documents and forgery for allegedly carrying fake working permits and fake boat registration papers.

"The foreigners are not in a position to possess the fake working permits and fake boat registration documents unless someone in the country provided them with those spurious documents,’" Alvarez said.

The case arose when three Taiwanese vessels – Fly Young -16, Gozel-02 and Sunny 2 – were apprehended last April 24 off the waters of Cagayan and Batanes after they were caught fishing in Philippine waters.

When apprehended, the crew of the three vessels presented Philippine-issued working permits and boat registration papers which when checked with the appropriate authorities, proved to be fake.

The Philippine Coast Guard and the Judge Advocate General’s Office have filed charges of illegal fishing, forgery and falsification of public documents against the Chinese fishermen.

But Alvarez said the PCG should go further to the root of the matter and apprehend also those responsible for the forging of the documents "so that they will no longer be in a position to provide the same cover for other illegal fishermen and poachers."

Initial reports from the PCG said the Taiwanese fishermen acquired the fake documents in exchange for large sums of cash.

PCG commandant Vice Admiral Reuben Lista, upon instructions from the DOTC secretary, has begun his investigation into the source of the fake documents.

"Heads will roll. No one will be spared in the investigation," Lista said indicating the suspects could be PCG personnel assigned to the ports where the unregistered fishing boats sailed.

Alvarez, for his part, lamented the fact that foreign fishermen are encroaching into Philippine waters and stealing precious marine resources that otherwise are reserved for Filipinos.