By Argyll Geducos and Genalyn Kabiling
Malacañang assured that someone will be held responsible for the sinking of the Philippine fishing vessel and the abandonment of its 22-man crew in the West Philippine Sea last week.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo
(OPS / MANILA BULLETIN)
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo made the statement as the government moves to assist the 22 Filipino fishermen who were rescued by a Vietnamese vessel when the anchored boat of the former was hit by a Chinese vessel near the Recto Bank.
But Panelo, in an earlier statement, said the government must be “rational” instead of “emotional” in dealing with the incident.
“We understand the sentiments of the Filipino people. As a government, however, it must be rational rather than emotional,” Panelo said.
In an interview with ANC, Panelo reiterated that the abandonment of the Filipino fishermen was a violation of the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), hence someone should be held responsible for it.
“We will not allow the absence of responsibility on the part of the wrongdoers. And in fact, even the Chinese government said so itself na hindi rin sila papayag na ganoon (that they will not allow that to happen),” he said.
“In fact, they (China) said, irresponsible behavior iyong abandonment; (abandonment was an irresponsible behavior),” he added.
According to Panelo, it is now more important to talk about how the Filipino fishermen were abandoned over whether the incident was intentional or not.
“Palagay ko ang mas mahalagang pag-usapan, anong gagawin natin sa ginawang abandonment sapagka’t (I think it's more important to talk about what to do with the act of abandonment because) it’s a violation on the UNCLOS kung hindi nila tinulungan ito (if they did not help them),” he said.
China had earlier confirmed that a Chinese vessel indeed hit the Filipino boat but fled the scene for fear of being besieged by other Filipino vessels in the area.
In his interview with ANC, Panelo said the government wants to know the basis for the fear of the Chinese crew because it may be justified.
“We want to know, bakit kayo natakot (why were they afraid)? Was this fear justified,” Panelo said.
“Kasi (Because) even under the UNCLOS, while you are required to give assistance to ship or passengers in a vessel in distress if it endangers your own safety you are not required to do that,” he added.
In his Tuesday press briefing, Panelo said that if proven that the incident was intentional, the Philippines will sue the Chinese crew in local courts.
“If the findings are both – with respect to the fact of abandonment – eh talagang dapat managot sila doon; at mayroong mekanismo doon (They have to be held accountable and there is a mechanism for that),” he said.
“We can sue them, kasi teritoryo natin iyon, eh. Baka nasa Mindorong teritoryo iyon (Because maybe it happened in Mindoro's territory), so we can sue the offending vessel... Dito sa hukuman natin, kung saan iyong area na iyon, kung anong (In the court that has jurisdiction over it), territorial jurisdiction ng court... Reckless imprudence resulting in damage of property,” he added.
The Palace official also said that it is important to assist the 22 fishermen.
“Iyon ang mas mahalaga, kung ano ang gagawin natin dito sa ating mga kababayan (What's more important is what we will do with these fishermen),” Panelo said.
“And we said – we decided already sa (in the) cluster Cabinet na tutulungan natin, at tinulungan na nga (that we will help them, and they were given assistance) even before that. Iyon ang mas mahalaga doon (That's what's more important),” he added.
On Monday, President Duterte dismissed the reported collision as a little maritime incident after staying silent about it for eight days. According to the President, it is important that China is given the right to be heard, urging Filipinos to not increase the tension.
Sovereignty non-negotiable – Palace
At present, Panelo said the government has opted to wait for the results of the investigation to determine the truth behind the June 9 incident in Recto Bank.
He also stressed that the government would continue to defend and uphold the country's sovereignty and protect the welfare of the Filipinos, including the fishermen.
“The Executive’s standpoint has been clear and unequivocal: The issue of sovereignty is non-negotiable. Foremost in our mind is to serve and protect the interest of the Filipino people, including the 22 affected fishermen,” he said.
“Unless and until the basis of our position has been refuted by contrary evidence, our initial position on the matter stands,” he added.
But with attempts to discredit the narrative about the Recto Bank incident, Panelo said “a fair and impartial investigation is now in order for the government to appreciate the facts of the incident and evaluate its proper course of action on the matter.”
Sen. Joel Villanueva had earlier said the government was in a state of confusion following its different descriptions of the Recto Bank incident. The senator sought for clarity among the government officials after they described the sinking of the Filipino boat as collision, allusion, and then a maritime incident.
“We take exception to the remarks of Senator Joel Villanueva who has been quoted in news reports as saying that the 'government is in a state of confusion’ in reference to the Administration’s handling of the Recto Bank issue,” Panelo said.
Panelo took a swipe at those are unable to comprehend the government's position.
“When one makes an appropriate description of a circumstance previously mislabelled, one calls that a clarification. What the members of the Cabinet did was simply to clarify the issue as the circumstances previously unknown surrounding the Recto Bank incident begin to unravel,” he said.
“If after the clarification, the reader cannot still comprehend, then it is his mind which is in a state of confusion as he cannot grasp a simple correction of terminology or worse he could be intellectually challenged,” he added.