GMA News Online News » Nation

Coast Guard: Vessel that collided with PHL boat registered in Hong Kong

June 25, 2012 1:00pm

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Monday said the collision that left a Filipino fisherman dead last week was between a local fishing boat and a maritime vessel registered in Hong Kong, an administrative region of China.

However, Coast Guard commandant Vice Admiral Edmund Tan said this was just a preliminary finding while an investigation continues.

Tan said he does not believe the incident is related to the standoff in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal between the Philippines and China because the the incident happened far from the disputed shoal.

According radio dzBB's Carlo Mateo, the Coast Guard's initial findings showed that the Filipino fishermen's boat was in danger of sinking due to bad weather, prompting the fishermen to tie it to a payaw (fish aggregating device).

A bulk carrier, suspected by the Coast Guard to be a Hong Kong-registered vessel, reportedly bumped onto the fishermen's boat as it passed through the area.

While the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the vessel involved was Chinese, it removed all references to it on its Monday update.

Chinese Embassy: No reports of vessel collission

On the other hand, the Chinese Embassy in Manila said its initial probe showed that "up until now there have been no reports of vessel collision accident or SOS requests on the reported dates and in the reported waters."

Chinese Embassy spokesperson Zhang Hua said he did not receive any information on the reported collision from relevant authorities in China.

“Up until now, there have been no reports of vessel collision accident or SOS requests on the reported dates and in the reported waters,” he said in a statement posted on the embassy’s website on Monday.

The Philippines and China had been in a standoff at the shoal since April, after Philippine forces spotted Chinese fishermen gathering marine species from the area but were blocked by Chinese vessels when they tried to make arrests.

Not blaming anybody

President Benigno Simeon Aquino III on Monday refused to blame anybody for the alleged collision between a boat carrying Filipino fishermen and a Chinese vessel until the investigation is completed.

The President said there is an ongoing operation to rescue the four missing fishermen.

“We are not accusing anybody at this point (but) once you have gathered the necessary evidence, yung incident iniwan mo yung mga tao sa dagat that is actionable. We can go to the appropriate fora to file the necessary charges for justice for our fishermen,” Aquino said in an interview in Benguet.

The President is in Benguet to witness the oath-taking of new members of the Liberal Party.

The NDRRMC's 6:00 a.m. update on Monday said the fishermen's boat "AXL John" was bumped allegedly by an "unidentified" vessel, initially described as a Chinese vessel.

The NDRRMC identified those missing as:

Fred Celino
Arnold Garcia
Domy de los Santos
Amante Resonable

On the other hand, those rescued and brought to the Gabriela Silang General Hospital in Vigan City were:

Edimio S. Balmores, 40
Herman C. Balmores, 51
Celino V. Damian, 32

A fourth rescued fisherman, Christopher Carbonell, 32, of Bolinao, Pangasinan, died in the hospital Sunday, while Edimio and Herman Balmores were brought home by relatives, the NDRRMC added. - with reports from Andreo Calonzo/ Amita Legaspi/ VVP/ HS, GMA News

Tags: Philippine Coast Guard

We welcome healthy discussions and friendly debate! Please click Flag to alert us of a comment that may be abusive or threatening. Read our full comment policy here.