Piñol says Recto Bank fishermen now using donated boats, engines not replaced

Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol on Monday clarified that the boats given to the 22 crew members of FB Gem-Vir 1, the fishing boat that was reportedly rammed and sunk by a Chinese vessel in Recto Bank, could now be used.

The fishermen in fact have already started using the boats in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, according to a report by Allan Gatus on Dobol B sa News TV.

Piñol said this is contrary to earlier reports that the donated engines were unsuited for the boats.

He said only minimal repair was done in the mounting frame of the engines so there was no need to replace them.

Mga bangka na ibinigay sa 22 mangingisda na inabandona ng Chinese vessel sa Recto Bank, nagagamit na, ayon kay Agriculture Sec. @mannypinol. | via @allangatus pic.twitter.com/4hfiL16m4O

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) June 24, 2019

In a separate Facebook post, Piñol clarified that the engines were not replaced.

"'Yung sabi nilang hindi akma actually was just a simple question of the bolts in the steel mounting for the engine that did not fit the holes in the engine frame so it could be installed," he said.

"They just adjusted the bolts in the mounting frame and the minor issue was solved," Piñol added.

Personnel of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources of the Department of Agriculture on Saturday, June 22, 2019, tested the fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) boats donated to the 22 Filipino fishermen who lost their boat in the June 9 Recto Bank incident involving a Chinese vessel. Photo courtesy of DA-BFAR

The Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) supervised the test run of the 30-footer fiberglass-reinforced plastic boats last June 22.

"These boats can now be used by the beneficiaries to fish within the municipal waters abundant with fishes like tulingan, galunggong, tambakol, gulyasan, dalagang-bukid, talakitok, sapsap and tamban among others while they wait for the restoration of the motherboat F/B GEM-VIR 1," the agency said in a press release.

Aside from the boats, the fishermen received a total of P45,000 each as well as rice, scholarships for their children and livelihood opportunities. —Anna Felicia Bajo/KG, GMA News