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Philippine official: coast guard shooters should face justice

ROC Central News Agency

2013/06/19 23:18:16

Manila, June 19 (CNA) The Philippine official in charge of Taiwan affairs expressed on Wednesday his support for the idea to file criminal charges against the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel who fired at an unarmed Taiwanese fishing boat in May, killing one fisherman on board.

Manila Economic and Cultural Office Chairman Amadeo Perez warned in an interview with the ANC news channel that if the charges recommended by the National Bureau of Investigation after its investigation into the shooting were not brought up, Taipei-Manila relations will worsen further.

"I have nothing against the Coast Guard. But the problem is that the issue has caused a great impact and, therefore, I hope that the result of the investigation would come out sooner so that this will pave the way for us to restore normal relations already with Taiwan," he explained.

The Philippine investigation authorities have completed an investigation report on the shooting on May 9 in the waters where Taiwanese and Philippine exclusive economic zones overlap, and they have sent the report to the Ministry of Justice and presidential palace for review.

The report will not be made public until it is approved by the palace, said the Philippine authorities dealing with the matter.

In protest against the Philippine government's "lack of sincerity" in handling the case, Taiwan has imposed several sanctions, including suspending the hiring of Filipinos seeking work in Taiwan and issuing a "red-alert" warning for tourists planning to travel to the Philippines.

"Taiwan will use all kinds of sanctions" against the Philippines if no charges are filed against coast guard personnel involved in the shooting, Perez stated.

He said the Philippines has much to lose if it does not resolve the issue satisfactorily, noting that the country's tourism industry has already lost a lot of money.

Every year, nearly 120,000 Taiwanese tourists spend their summer vacation in the Philippines, he continued. "Now they have canceled all chartered flights," Perez added.

Holding a different opinion from Perez's, Gregorio Honason, a re-elected senator from the opposition United Nationalist Alliance, cautioned the government against filing the charges against the PCG personnel because such a move could demoralize their colleagues.

(By Emerson Lim and Elizabeth Hsu)