8 PCG men in Balintang shooting ordered arrested

MANILA, Philippines - The eight Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) men involved in the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman in May last year were ordered arrested by the Batanes regional trial court.

Basco, Batanes RTC Branch 13 issued the arrest warrant against Commanding Officer Arnold Enriquez de la Cruz, Seamen 1st Class (SN1) Edrando Aguila, Mhelvin Bendo II, Andy Golfo, Sunny Masangcay and Henry Solomon; SN2 Nicky Aurello; and Petty Officer 2 Richard Fernandez Corpuz on the homicide case filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) last month.

Judge Ramon Barona allowed each of the PCG personnel to post P40,000 bail.

The PCG, on the other hand, said they would file a motion for recognizance before the Batanes court requesting to allow the eight Coast Guard men be placed in their custody.

PCG acting spokesman Commander Geny Basilio said they have not received a copy of the warrants of arrest.

“We would request a motion for recognizance since the eight PCG personnel are already in our custody. If the motion is approved, we would gain custody of them but if the court disapproves, we would direct them to post bail,” Basilio said.

Basilio said they would also request for a change of venue of trial considering the difficulty of traveling to Batanes.

He said they would request for the change of trial venue on the charges of obstruction of justice against De la Cruz and Bendo.

Last week, the Cagayan court issued an arrest warrant against De la Cruz and Bendo for a separate case of obstruction of justice. They were also allowed to post bail of P12,000 each.

The DOJ filed the cases last month after preliminary investigation showed probable cause on the charges filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) against the PCG officers.

The DOJ dismissed the claim of the Coast Guard men that they were forced to fire at the Taiwanese fishing boat after it tried to ram the Filipino vessel.

The panel also did not give credence to the claim of the PCG men that they cannot be held criminally liable for the incident as they were merely performing their lawful duties.

Instead, the panel held the respondents “all acted in unison with the common purpose of firing” at the Taiwanese fishing boat Guang Da Xing No. 28 to force it to submit to MCS-3001’s inspection.

The DOJ added that the claim of self-defense should be better left threshed out in the trial court, during a full-blown hearing.

On the charges of obstruction of justice, the DOJ noted the conflicting information in the two reports, which bear the same date, as to the number of ammunition expended by patrol boat MCS-3001.

The first report stated that only 36 rounds of ammunition were fired by the MCS-3001 crew at the Taiwanese fishing boat that resulted in the death of suspected poacher Hiong Shi Cheng.

The NBI, however, pointed out that the actual number of rounds spent was 108.

A second gunnery report was submitted by De la Cruz and Bendo on May 27, 2013 but it was dated May 11, 2013, indicating a total of 108 rounds were expended.

– With Evelyn Macairan, Charlie Lagasca