Watching video, Taiwan probers weep

 News
May 302013
 
Watching video, Taiwan probers weep

By Nancy C. CarvajalPhilippine Daily Inquirer 4:53 am | Friday, May 31st, 2013 Taiwanese investigators look at a portion of a ship involved in the alleged shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman as they ride a rubber boat with Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) members on Tuesday May 28, 2013. They reportedly became emotional while watching a video of the encounter between the PCG and a Taiwanese fishing vessel in the waters off the northern Philippines that resulted in the shooting death of a Taiwanese fisherman. AP PHOTO/AARON FAVILA MANILA, Philippines—Taiwanese investigators in Manila reportedly became emotional while watching a video of the encounter between the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and a Taiwanese fishing vessel in the waters off the northern Philippines that resulted in the shooting death of a Taiwanese fisherman. “Some of them cried and others uttered ‘it’s excessive,’” said the source who asked not to be named for lack of authority to speak on the parallel probe of the May 9 incident by Taiwanese and Philippine investigators working in both Taipei and Manila. The source said several PCG personnel were shown in the video shooting at the Taiwanese vessel, the Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28. Fisherman Hung Shih-cheng, 65, was killed. The source described the video as close to two hours and showing the earlier activities of the boat, the MCS-3001, jointly manned by the PCG and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR). The footage, taken by one of the PCG personnel, showed that the Taiwanese fishing Read More …

PCG ‘open’ to inspection of PH vessel by Taiwanese probe team

 News
May 272013
 

By Jerry E. Esplanada Philippine Daily Inquirer 4:04 pm | Monday, May 27th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines -The Philippine Coast Guard is “open” to allowing visiting Taiwanese investigators to inspect the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessel involved in the May 9 incident in the Balintang Channel where a Taiwanese fisherman was reportedly shot dead by PCG personnel, the PCG commandant said Monday. Rear Admiral Rodolfo Isorena, however, said they would only do so with the permission of the National Bureau of Investigation, which is looking into the case. He told reporters that the 17 PCG crew of the BFAR monitoring control and surveillance ship (MCS 3001) “will be made available anytime” to the Taiwanese investigation team. “The PCG [crewmen] are under custodial investigation [by the command’s Internal Affairs Office]. Anytime they’re called, andyan lang sila (they are just around),” he said. The two other crew members of the MCS 3001 are personnel of BFAR, an agency attached to the Department of Agriculture. Commander Armand Balilo, the Coast Guard spokesperson, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer their Internal Affairs Office was “almost done” with its own investigation of the incident. “It is investigating what really transpired during the incident. However, Internal Affairs’ findings will not be made public,” said Balilo, also chief of the PCG Public Affairs Office. Earlier, the Coast Guard said the unnamed PCG personnel aboard BFAR ship first fired warning shots at the Taiwanese boat after it made a hostile maneuver, and later shot directly at the fleeing Read More …

PCG report on grounded US ship due

 News
May 242013
 
PCG report on grounded US ship due

Philippine Daily Inquirer 6:39 am | Saturday, May 25th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is expected to release next week its report on the grounding of the US Navy minesweeper, the Guardian, at the Tubbataha Reef last Jan. 17. According to PCG spokesperson Commander Armand Balilo, the report is about 90-percent complete. It will be submitted next week to Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya who will then forward it to President Aquino. According to Balilo, the report will include what actually happened or what caused the incident, as well as measures and recommendations to prevent its recurring. The 68-meter long Guardian ran aground at the Tubbataha Reef and damaged more than 1,500 square meters of the reef, which the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) has declared a World Heritage Site. The Guardian was cut into pieces and removed from the reef last March 30. The US government has committed to rehabilitate the portion of the reef that was damaged by the Guardian but its discussions with the Department of Foreign Affairs on the matter have been kept confidential. Tina G. Santos Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Tags: Commander Armand Balilo , Philippine Coast Guard , President Aquino , Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya , Tubbataha Read More …

Taiwan condemns PHL attack on fishing boat, meets PCG chief

 News
May 092013
 
Taiwan condemns PHL attack on fishing boat, meets PCG chief

Taiwan on Thursday demanded an apology from the Philippine government as it condemned the shooting of a Taiwanese fishing boat by a Philippine vessel. At least one fisherman was reported dead in the incident. A report on Taiwan’s Central News Agency said Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the shooting came from an “official Philippine ship.” Earlier, Beijing-based Xinhua News Agency reported on its website Xinhua.net that  a Philippine Navy ship fired upon the fishing vessel in seas south of Taiwan. Quoting the foreign ministry, the CNA report identified the slain fisherman as Hung Shih-cheng, 65, adding the shooting occurred Thursday morning. It said the Taiwanese boat “Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28” was some 170 nautical miles off the southern coast of Taiwan at the time, and was seriously damaged. Aside from an apology, Taiwan demanded that the Philippine government identify those responsible and make compensation for the losses. The CNA report noted there had been past incidents where Taiwanese fishermen operating in the area were arrested and detained by Philippine authorities. But it said there had been few reports of shooting. Quoting Taiwan’s representative to the Philippines Raymond Wang, who met with Philippine Coast Guard head Rear Admiral Rodolfo Isorena, the Philippines found one of its ships shot the Taiwanese fishing boat. It said the type of vessel deployed by the Philippines and the weapons used were not immediately known. A separate report on Taipei Times said the vessel was operating at around 164 nautical miles (304 km) southeast Read More …

12 Chinese seamen charged

 News
Apr 102013
 
12 Chinese seamen charged

By Redempto D. Anda Inquirer Southern Luzon 10:11 pm | Wednesday, April 10th, 2013 PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines—The 12 Chinese nationals whose boat got stuck in the Tubbataha Reefs on Monday night were slapped with charges of poaching and other violations of the marine park’s rules. They were detained at the provincial jail facility here following inquest proceedings on Tuesday afternoon. The Chinese, all crew members of what was reported as a 48-by-8-meter fishing vessel that rammed into Tubbataha’s north islet, were also expected to face additional charges, including attempted bribery. Marine park rangers at the World Heritage Site in the Sulu Sea said the Chinese offered them a bribe of $2,400 immediately after the boat ran aground. “We went ahead with the filing of the poaching case first and other violations under the law that created the Tubbataha marine park,” lawyer Adelle Villena of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development told the INQUIRER. She said other cases, including that one involving bribery, would follow. In Roxas City, President Benigno Aquino III said he was taken aback that yet another foreign vessel ran aground in the natural park, but this time he vowed to throw the book at the Chinese crew. “Wow! We’ve just finished (extracting the USS) Guardian, and here comes another one,” the President recalled what he told Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya when the letter reported to him the latest incident on Tuesday. Mr. Aquino said swift legal action would be taken against crewmen of the steel-hulled Read More …

Dismantling of US minesweeper halfway through

 News
Mar 132013
 
Dismantling of US minesweeper halfway through

By Jerry E. EsplanadaPhilippine Daily Inquirer 2:31 pm | Wednesday, March 13th, 2013 In a photo released by the U.S. Navy, the mine countermeasures ship USS Guardian sits aground in this Jan. 22, 2013 file photo on the Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea in the Philippines. AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—The dismantling of the USS Guardian stuck on the Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea is about 50 percent complete, the Philippine Coast Guard said Wednesday. In a report to the PCG headquarters in Manila, Commodore Enrico Efren Evangelista, head of Task Force Tubbataha and commander of the Coast Guard’s Palawan district, said on Tuesday the US Navy-contracted salvage team had dismantled about 50 percent of the grounded minesweeper. The salvage team is “expecting calm weather in the next three to four days so work will continue on the USS Guardian,” he added. Aside from the PCG, the task force includes the Philippine Navy, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Tubbataha Reef Foundation and local government units in the island-province of Palawan. Lt. Cmdr. Armand Balilo, the PCG’s spokesman, said on Wednesday that “with wind speeds of 10 to 15 knots and waves of less than one meter, weather conditions in the reef area have been very favorable to continue the salvage operation.” “Today, the salvage team will continue removing the pipelines in the engine room of the Guardian. The team is also scheduled to remove the remaining main engine and two auxiliary engines, as well as the Read More …

Senate panels recommend proceedings vs Glenn Defense over waste dumping

 News
Feb 062013
 
Senate panels recommend proceedings vs Glenn Defense over waste dumping

The Senate committees on foreign relations and environment and natural resources are recommending administrative and criminal proceedings be started against Malaysian shipping firm Glenn Defense Marine Asia for dumping waste into Philippine waters last year. In a speech delivered Wednesday, Senate foreign relations committee chair Senator Loren Legarda said that the two panels are recommending that the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) file administrative charges and impose the necessary penalty against Glenn Defense for failure to comply with the country’s environmental and marine protection laws. She said they are also recommending that the three agencies suspend all permits issued to Glenn Defense until the completion of the sanctions and proceedings. She also said that they are recommending that the Department of Justice further investigate the matter and determine if Glenn Defense shouldd be blacklisted and if criminal cases should be filed. Legarda said that they are likewise recommending the review of the Visiting Forces Agreement to ensure that it is compliant with Philippine laws. “This incident and the unfortunate grounding of a US minesweeper in Tubbataha Reef are two different incidents, grounded on the same issue – the need for better coordinative and implementing arrangements to ensure, as stated in the Executive Order creating the VFACOM, ‘respect for Philippine laws, state policies… and strict compliance with rules and regulations’ by our treaty partner and all entities performing services outside of the VFA,” she said. “Our government agencies need Read More …

US Navy presents plan to dismantle grounded ship in Tubbataha

 News
Feb 042013
 
US Navy presents plan to dismantle grounded ship in Tubbataha

By Jerry E. Esplanada Philippine Daily Inquirer 4:38 pm | Monday, February 4th, 2013 USS Guardian AP PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—The United States Navy has presented to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) its USS Guardian “dismantling plan” that will utilize floating cranes in what it calls a “complex operation” to minimize damage to the Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea. Lt. Commander Armand Balilo, the PCG spokesperson, however, told the Philippines they have to get word from the US Navy when the actual ship dismantling operation would start. In a text message, Balilo said on Monday “there’s no information yet on the exact date of the ship-breaking.” But he assured PCG personnel “will assist the US Navy personnel (involved in the operation).” Coast Guard vessels will also “conduct patrols to secure the Tubbataha Reef area while the operation is underway,” Balilo added. Reports reaching the PCG headquarters in Manila said the SMIT Borneo of SMIT Singapore Pte. Ltd., the floating crane contracted by the US Navy to remove the grounded Guardian, has arrived at the reef. US naval salvage experts have assessed that attempts to remove the Guardian intact, such as towing or pulling it off the reef, could cause more damage to the reef and the ship’s hull and most likely result in the vessel breaking up or sinking. The Guardian ran aground on Jan. 17, while transiting to Indonesia after a port visit at the former US naval base in Subic, Zambales. On Jan. 31, the US Pacific Fleet Read More …

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