Gem-Ver fishermen should receive ₱12M compensation from Chinese ship owner, DOJ says

Gem-Ver fishermen should receive ₱12M compensation from Chinese ship owner, DOJ says
CNN Philippines Staff Sep 17, 2020 https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/9/17/Gem-Ver-fishermen-compensa...

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 17) — The 22 Filipino fishermen abandoned by a Chinese vessel which hit their boat in the West Philippine Sea may move closer to justice as the government determines the compensation that they are supposed to receive for the 2019 incident.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Thursday prosecutors in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro found that the 22 fishermen on board the Filipino fishing boat Gem-Ver are due civil damages amounting to over ₱12 million. He did not provide the exact amount that should be received by each of the fishermen and the vessel owner, who are from Occidental Mindoro.

DOJ was tasked to determine the monetary compensation to be paid by the owner of the Chinese vessel, which rammed the Filipino boat on the night of June 9, 2019. The incident happened in the vicinity of Recto Bank, also called Reed Bank, an underwater feature in the West Philippine Sea also being claimed by China.

The Filipinos were abandoned by the Chinese crew, floating at sea for hours before they were rescued by Vietnamese fishermen.

The incident has sparked outrage in the Philippines, with protesters burning Chinese flags. President Rodrigo Duterte has been criticized for describing it as a “little maritime accident.”

"The total estimated civil damages amount to something like 12 million plus pesos for the repair of the fishing boat that was rammed by the Chinese vessel, also for lost income or wages for a period of six months. These fishermen and the owner of the vessel also asked for moral damages," he told CNN Philippines' The Source.

The compensation estimate has been forwarded to the Department of Foreign Affairs, which will then send it to the Chinese government.

"We’ll just be waiting for the reaction of the Chinese government on the matter of payment of the civil damages," the Justice Secretary said.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., previously said both Manila and Beijing have arrived at the same conclusion that the Chinese vessel was at fault.

A joint investigation report of the Philippine Coast Guard and the Maritime Industry Authority concluded that it was a "very serious" marine incident, noting that the Chinese vessel could have — but failed to — take action to avoid the risk of the collision.

The report said the Chinese vessel failed to extend its assistance after it rammed into Gem-Ver, causing the boat to be half submerged.

China, in a statement released by its embassy on June 14, said that the captain of its vessel did not rescue the Gem-Ver for fear of being besieged, having just recently escaped a “siege” from other Filipino boats.