PCG men face civil suit in Taiwan over Balintang shooting

MANILA, Philippines - A court in Taiwan has summoned eight Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) members accused of homicide before a Manila court for the shooting death of a Taiwanese fisherman off Balintang island in Batanes in May 2013.

The STAR obtained a copy of a notification summoning the Filipinos to appear before the Pingtung District Court on Nov. 23 at 2:30 p.m. for a “verbal argument” on the civil case that the heirs of Hung Shih-cheng had filed against them.

The case is for “the damage compensation due to the infringing behavior.”

Named defendants are commanding officer Arnold Enriquez dela Cruz, Seamen 1st Class Edrando Aguila, Mhelvin Bendo II, Andy Gibb Golfo, Sunny Masangcay, Henry Solomon; SN2 Nicky Renold Aurello and Petty Officer Richard Fernandez Corpuz.

The summons were individually sent to each defendant and signed by clerk of court Hsu Chien-Kung. The summons were dated Aug.t 20, 2015 but were received by the defendants only last week.

The civil suit in Taiwan would make the eight Philippine coastguardsmen “liable to pay monetary damages for their actions during the Balintang Channel incident,” according to their lawyer, Rodrigo Moreno.

“The notification does not say the amount being demanded,” he told The STAR yesterday. “We don’t know what this is about because the MECO (Manila Economic and Culture Office, the unofficial Philippine embassy in Taiwan) already paid the family an undisclosed amount last 2013.”

Moreno sought assistance from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) through a letter to Secretary Albert del Rosario last Oct. 28.

The STAR was furnished a copy of the letter.

In the letter, Moreno  asked the DFA “to verify the precise nature of the case, the identity of the plaintiffs/claimants, the cause/s of action, the current status of the latter, as well as other specifics pertaining to the  aforementioned case.”

“We likewise formally request the DFA to provide our clients with effective and competent legal representation in the aforementioned case,” he said.

“Our clients are all civil servants of limited financial capacity, and while we represent them before the Philippine courts pro bono, we are not qualified to practice law before Taiwan courts.”

Since his clients were “acting in the line of duty during the incident in question” and “in the lawful performance of duty in upholding Philippines laws and defending national sovereignty during the Balintang Channel,” the government “may be exposed to legal liability in case of any adverse judgment in the proceedings before Taiwanese courts,” Moreno said.

The eight Philippine coastguardsmen are charged with homicide under Article 249 of the Revised Penal Code for the fatal shooting of Hung on May 9, 2013.

In March last year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed the homicide case before the Batanes Regional Trial Court, which has jurisdiction over Balintang island.

The Supreme Court later ordered the case transferred to the Manila Regional Trial Court.

The DOJ also filed charges of obstruction of justice against Dela Cruz, Bendo, Marvin Ramirez and Martin Bernabe before the Municipal Trial Court of Cagayan Province for allegedly submitting tampered evidence to the National Bureau of Investigation, including “spliced” video footage.

The four allegedly gave false information to the NBI on the number of bullets fired during the shooting.

In May last year, the Philippine coastguardsmen surrendered and posted bail before the Manila Regional Trial Court for the criminal cases after the Batanes and Cagayan courts issued arrest warrants against them.