No agreement has been reached yet on the compensation claimed for the 2019 sinking of Filipino fishing vessel F/B Gem-Ver 1, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Sunday, July 11.
There were reports that the owner and crew members of the ill-fated vessel have agreed for a settlement of P6 million out of the P12 million that was originally claimed.
The same reports stated that the Chinese company which owned the trawler which hit the fishing vessel made a counteroffer of P3.6 million.
“The discussions are still on-going. Until these are completed, it might not be advisable to make any statements on the amounts involved,” DOJ Undersecretary Adrian Ferdinand S. Sugay said.
Sugay declined to issue further statements in connection with the ongoing talks.
Talks over the compensation started last June 7 and was hosted by the Philippine Embassy in Beijing.
The discussion was held after two years since the June 9, 2019 sinking of Gem-Ver 1 which got rammed by a Chinese fishing vessel in Reed Bank, also known as the Recto Bank, in the West Philippine Sea.
The Chinese fishing vessel fled which left the crew of Gem-Ver 1 stranded until they got rescued and returned to Philippine shores.