Palace: PHL looking into incident involving Vietnamese fishermen

Malacañang on Monday said the Philippine government has started conducting its investigation on the incident that killed two Vietnamese fishermen.

At a press briefing, presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella also echoed the statement of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano of a fair and thorough probe.

"Authorities are now conducting a fair and thorough investigation into the incident involving a Philippine Navy vessel and Vietnamese fishing boats which were seen fishing 34 nautical miles off Cape Bolinao in Pangasinan well within exclusive economic zone," he said during Mindanao Hour in Malacañang.

Abella also said the Department of Foreign Affairs was in touch with its counterpart in Vietnam.

"The incident led to the deaths of two Vietnamese nationals and the DFA is closely coordinating with the officials of the Vietnamese Embassy in Manila to update them on the developments and to facilitate their access to the five other Vietnamese fishermen taken into custody by the Philippine Navy," he said.

The Philippine Navy on Saturday morning had an encounter with Vietnamese fishermen in waters off Bolinao, Pangasinan.

The alleged firefight happened as the Vietnamese fishermen attempted to escape, the report added. — Trisha Macas/RSJ, GMA News