MECO files complaint after Pinoy beaten with baseball bat in Taiwan

The Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) has filed a formal complaint to the council of labor affairs in Taiwan after a Taiwanese gang beat an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) with baseball bats on Saturday. The beating was triggered by the Taiwanese people's anger over the May 9 shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman suspected of poaching by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in the Balintang Channel in Batanes in extreme northern Luzon. GMA Network's "Saksi" newscast on Monday aired a video sent by an OFW in Taiwan showing  shattered glass on the floor as well as broken doors and windows of a Taichung dormitory. The leg of Filipino Joey de Leon, one of the dormers, were broken after he was attacked by a Taiwanese gang with baseball bats. “Pinasok yung dormitory. Pinagpapapalo yung window glass. Tapos ako yung na-korner nila. Ako yung kinuyog nila,” De Leon recalled. De Leon claimed that MECO advised him to reconsider filing a case against those who attacked him. However, MECO denied this, saying they have even filed a complaint on behalf of the harassed OFWs to the Taiwanese ministry of labor affairs. MECO Chair Amadeo Perez Jr. added that the ministry has been cooperative with the case. “In our communication with the ministry of foreign affairs, they assured us that police authorities are investigating the matter and they are looking for the perpetrators of this act,” Perez said. He also cited how Taiwanese authorities have beefed up security in areas with high concentrations of Filipinos to prevent any similar incidents from occurring. “Lahat yung mga workplace ng mga Pilipino OFWs [binabantayan na]. Di naman sa loob pero makikita mo ang police patrol at foot patrol ng police ng Taiwan [na rumoronda],” he said. The Taiwan council of labor affairs has opened a round the clock, toll-free hotline 1955 where OFWs could report instances of harassment and assault. The MECO, on the other hand, said it can be contacted at:   Taipei: 02-25079803/ 02-25079804/ 02-25081719/ 0927-154981/ 0910-104009/ 0922-060496 0932-218057   Taichung: 04-23029089/ 04-23029080/ 0958-175359/ 0932-657661   Kaohsiung: 07-3982475/ 07-3985935/ 07-3985936/ 0911-868768   The other numbers include: Police: 110 Emergency: 119 CLA: 1955   Email: claquino@meco.org.tw/ steulogio@meco.org.tw/ tolitzen@hotmail.com/ marioimolina@yahoo.com/ labattrdc59@yahoo.com Resolving the issue Malacañang is ironing out a plan to resolve its row with Taiwan diplomatically. “We understand that the tension there is very high and were hoping that, moving forward there would be a resolution to these issues that are being raised which is why we have continually appealed for calm,” Presidential Deputy Spokesperson Abigail Valte said. On Tuesday, President Benigno Simeon Aquino III said the Philippines is open to discussing a fisheries agreement with its neighboring  countries after resolving its diplomatic row with Taiwan triggered by the May 9 fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman in disputed waters. However, Aquino said he wants closure first on issues surrounding the Taiwanese fisherman's death before dealing with any fisheries agreement. "After we finish this issue, we will talk to every neighbor that we have on having a peaceful and prosperous relationship," Aquino told reporters after a Philippine Navy event in Cavite. The President added that he has already tasked appropriate agencies to study the possibility of a fisheries deal with neighboring countries while protecting Philippines' national patrimony. The fisheries agreement was one of the demands made by Taiwan before it imposed sanctions on the Philippines. An earlier report of Taiwan's Central News Agency said President Ma Ying-jeou convened a high-ranking meeting, and decided on four demands on the Philippines, including:   - the issuance of a formal apology; - compensation for the losses; - punishing the perpetrators of the killing, and - open fishery agreement talks between the Philippines and Taiwan soonest. A Reuters report, citing Taiwan media, said Taiwan intends to freeze all new applications of Filipinos to work on the island. Parallel probe Meanwhile, the National Bureau (NBI) of Investigation under the Department of Justice (DOJ) has sent a team to Taiwan to inspect the fishing vessel that was shot at by PCG forces. On the other hand, a Taiwan team will be examining the guns that were used to fire on the fishing vessel. However, DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima emphasized that this was not a joint investigation and was considered only as a parallel probe. “In so far as the evidence found within Philippine territory, tapos na ang imbestigasyon ng NBI,” De Lima said adding “Patapos na. So hindi pwedeng basta na lang may sasama sa investigation under the concept of a joint probe.” The NBI will also talk to the fishermen present during the incident and will request for a re-autopsy of the body of the slain Taiwanese fisherman. “Katulad din natin I think ang patakaran doon [is] it should be with the consent of the family,” De Lima said. - Andrei Medina, VVP, GMA News