For $50,000, Taiwan poachers can go free

MANILA, Philippines - Taiwanese poachers who are caught in Philippine waters may be released if they pay a fine of $50,000.

In an interview over ANC, Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) Chairman Amadeo Perez said the fine was part of the agreement reached between Taiwan and the Philippines to prevent a repeat of incidents such as the killing of a suspected Taiwanese poacher in Balintang Channel last May.

“This was just an initial talk and Taiwan asked for it. In principle, we agreed that force or violence will not be used in the apprehension of fishermen in our territorial boundaries and also with Taiwan,” Perez said.

“We will not discontinue arresting Taiwanese fishermen who will encroach into our territorial boundaries, and in the same manner in their boundaries,” he added.

“Most fishermen would be willing to pay the administrative fine of $50,000 than (face) the case in court,” he said.

He noted that the fine could reach $100,000 to $200,000 if a case is filed in court.

Perez clarified that the $50,000 fine only applies to poachers and not to those carrying smuggled goods in their fishing vessels.

In a report submitted to President Aquino, a special fact-finding team of the National Bureau of Investigation recommended that the Philippine Coast Guard personnel involved in the shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman be held criminally and administratively liable.

Unlimited access

In a related development, a militant fisherfolk alliance warned that the proposed fishery pact with Taiwan would grant Taipei’s industrial fishing vessels unlimited access to the country’s waters.

“The fishery pact which the Philippine government wants to clinch with Taiwan will put us in an extremely disadvantageous position. It is like serving the country’s marine wealth on a silver platter to Taiwanese fishing giants,” said Salvador France, vice chairman of the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) in a press statement.

France said only a handful of Philippine fishing vessels could explore the country’s ocean waters compared to the vastly improved Taiwanese fishing fleets, which regularly poach in the country’s territorial waters.

“Taiwan wants unlimited fishing access in the Philippines, that is the real score and the Manila government seems like ready to give in to the request,” the Pamalakaya leader said.

He said the proposed fishery pact would expand the coverage of the existing RP-Taiwan Sea Lane Accord signed during the administration of former President Ferdinand Marcos and bolstered by an executive order signed by the President’s mother, the late President Corazon Aquino.

He said Executive Order 473 or the Establishment of Sea Lanes for the Use of Fishing Vessels had allowed Taiwanese fishing vessels to poach and fish under the cloak of sea passage rights.

Bring case to the UN

Meanwhile, Muntinlupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon said every incursion must be documented and a protest should be filed against the offending country before the United Nations.

“The government must keep on filing protest and petition until the UN wakes up,” he said at the weekly Kapihan sa Diamond in Manila. – With Michelle Zoleta, Perseus Echeminada