Palace still mum on NBI report on shooting incident

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang made no comment over the pronouncement of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) had recommended the filing of charges against the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel involved in the fatal shooting of a suspected Taiwanese poacher last month.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said she could not comment on whether President Aquino upheld that decision.

“Not at this time. What we can confirm is that the report has been submitted by the Secretary of Justice,” Valte said.

“We have not received word on anything about the report. I understand that the report…is for the President’s eyes only. We’ve not seen the recommendations. We are not aware at this point of what the charges are. We will defer any comment on the recommendation for the time being until such time that the President gives us any instructions,” she said.

Valte added it would be premature to talk about the implications of the charges on the morale of the PCG men involved.

“We don’t know that yet. First, it would be hypothetical to say that the contents of that report would have an adverse effect on the morale of the Coast Guard. We don’t want to comment on that yet until such time that we’ve seen the charges and that we’ve received instructions from the President,” she said.

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) also declined to comment on the NBI recommendations and report.

“We will make our comment on the final report once it is official,” TECO official David Chen said in a text message to The STAR.

The NBI has reportedly recommended the filing of criminal and administrative charges against certain PCG personnel, including those from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in the shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman they allegedly caught poaching in Balintang Channel on May 9.

De Lima announced the NBI made the recommendations and submitted their findings to the President.

NBI deputy director for regional operation services chief Virgilio Mendez said the “recommendation does not mean that there were already charges filed because there will still be preliminary investigations.”

De Lima also revealed that the NBI has established the territorial jurisdiction of the country over the incident. She said evidence showed the incident took place within Philippine territory as discussed in the first part of the report.

De Lima did not reveal the nature of the charges and the people involved.

De Lima was in Spain to attend the 5th World Congress Against Death Penalty and was expected to be back yesterday.