‘ANOTHER HIT-AND-RUN?’

Hontiveros to gov’t: Don’t downplay Mindoro collision, find missing fishermen

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday urged the government not to downplay the maritime incident off Mindoro which caused 14 Filipinos to go missing.

Hontiveros was referring to the collision reported on Sunday morning, which involved a Hong Kong vessel Vienna Wood and the local fishing boat Liberty 5.

"Are we going to let another Chinese vessel get away with committing a 'hit and run' against Filipinos inside our territorial waters? Pumanig naman tayo sa sarili nating mga mangingisda," Hontiveros said in a statement.

She said the Palace should not consider the incident as mere collision.

On Monday, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the incident would not have any implication on the ASEAN-Philippines-China relations and that a probe will be done following Philippine laws.

"Wala po, banggaan iyan sa ating karagatan so iri-resolba po iyan sang-ayon po sa batas ng Admiralty na tinatawag natin," Roque said.

"Alam ninyo po, ang rules ng banggaan sa karagatan, parehong-pareho rin po iyan ng rules na ina-apply kapag may banggaan sa kalye. So wala naman pong malaking implikasyon iyan. Banggaan lang po iyan," he added.

On the other hand, Hontiveros said the Philippine government should side with the local fishermen instead of allegedly protecting China's interest.

She said the missing fishermen must be found and a full investigation of the collision must ensue.

"We shouldn’t soft-pedal these incidents when we know this is not the first time that Chinese vessels have put Filipinos in danger," she said.

The senator pointed out that the 22 fishermen aboard Gem-Ver1 which was hit and abandoned by a Chinese vessel in Recto Bank last year have yet to receive justice.

A year after the incident, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro "Teddyboy" Locsin, Jr. said the amount of financial compensation for the 22 crew members of the ill-fated fishing boat is yet to be determined by the Department of Justice.

“The Chinese government is not the one at fault here. The Chinese vessel is a private company,” Locsin added.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard said that the recent maritime collision in Mindoro was reported by the Hong Kong cargo vessel's captain.

The cargo vessel was on its way to Australia from Subic while the fishing boat was on its way to the Navotas Fish Port when the incident took place. — Dona Magsino/RSJ, GMA News