MANILA, Philippines — Eight officers of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) were convicted of homicide by the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 15 and sentenced to 14 years in prison in connection with the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman in 2013.
RTC Branch 15 Judge Ramon Reyes said in the verdict promulgated yesterday that PCG Commander Arnold Enriquez de la Cruz, Seaman Second Class Nicky Reynold Aurello, Seamen First Class Edrando Quiapo Aguila, Mhelvin Aguilar Bendo II, Andy Gibb Golfo, Sunny Galang Masangkay, Henry Baco Solomon and Petty Officer 2 Richard Fernandez Corpuz were found guilty of homicide for killing Taiwanese fisherman Hong Shi Cheng.
They are still active members of the PCG except for De la Cruz, who has retired.
“Judgment is hereby rendered finding the accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of homicide defined in and penalized under Article 249 of the Revised Penal Code,” Reyes wrote in the 31-page decision.
The men were also ordered to pay “jointly and severally” P50,000 in civil indemnity and P50,000 for moral damages to the victim’s heirs.
Rodrigo Moreno, lawyer of the PCG officers, said they would appeal the ruling before the Court of Appeals (CA). He also asked the court to let his clients keep their temporary liberty with their ongoing service to the PCG and that they were not flight risks.
He also maintained that the Taiwanese fishing boat was “stealing” from the Philippines since they were allegedly poaching in Philippine waters and it just so happened that the poaching aspect was disregarded in the resolution.
“We are going to point that out to the Court of Appeals, all the way up to the Supreme Court if we have to,” Moreno added.
The officers were able to post bail in 2014 and secured temporary liberty. Homicide is a bailable offense and their temporary liberty would only expire once the verdict becomes final.
“This judgment is not yet final. We would file a notice of appeal at the CA and we would ask the court to allow the accused to be out on bail while the appeal is pending,” Moreno said.
On May 9, 2013, a total of 16 PCG personnel were aboard patrol boat MCS 3001, with three Bureau of Fisheries personnel, when Taiwanese fishing boat Guang Da Xing No. 28 came into sight during their patrol at the Balintang Channel off Batanes. The officers testified that they blew their boat’s horn to warn the foreign boat to stop and were ordered to fire warning shots when it did not.
Commander De la Cruz, however, ordered the crew to fire at the engine to disable the boat when the warning shots did not stop the Taiwanese. Fisherman Hong’s autopsy report showed that he was killed by a high-velocity bullet.
While the PCG claimed that their only intent was to stop the illegal fishers, the Manila court ruled that the intent to kill was apparent when they used high-velocity firearms, firing at least 53 times while chasing after the boat.
State prosecutors have established that the fishing boat was on its way back to Taiwan, when the Taiwanese fishermen saw the Coast Guard vessel approaching and saw that the men were holding long firearms and a machine gun was mounted in front of the vessel.
When the two ships were about to collide, the Taiwanese turned away from the PCG and started firing at them.
“The foregoing circumstances prove not only the identity of the accused but also their participation and collective responsibility in the death of victim Hong Shi Cheng. They reveal a unity of purpose and concerted action evidencing their conspiracy to kill him. Indeed, a conspiracy exists when two or more persons come to an agreement concerning the commission of a felony and decide to commit it,” the judge wrote in the decision.
The Taiwanese government welcomed yesterday the Manila court’s decision.
“The government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) welcomes the verdict and expresses its gratitude and respect to the Philippine judicial system,” the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines (TECO) said in a statement.
“We now have to move on from this tragic incident, and determine how to further enhance the bilateral relationship between our two countries,” it added. – With Evelyn Macairan, Pia Lee-Brago