DoJ told to look into case of missing fisherman in Sunday’s hit and run
A PHILIPPINE senator has asked the Department of Justice (DoJ) and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to investigate the case of a Filipino fisherman who went missing after his wooden boat was hit by a vessel with Chinese characters near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Sunday.
In a statement, Senate Majority Floor Leader Francis N. Tolentino said he had written to the agencies asking them to help the fisherman’s family and step up efforts to find him.
“The search continues, and we hope for the rescue operation to be successful,” the lawmaker said. “We will find out where the ship that bumped into the fishing boat is registered.”
He earlier told a news briefing that Philippine Coast Guard Admiral Ronnie Gil L. Gavan sent him a text message on Tuesday saying the agency had been looking for Jose Mondeñedo, who went missing on July 7 after a commercial boat with Chinese letters collided with his fishing boat.
Mr. Gavan said the coast guard had rescued his brother Roberto, who was also caught in the collision, the senator told a news briefing on Tuesday.
Mr. Tolentino earlier said the government would likely work with the International Maritime Organization to find which vessel was responsible for the incident.
The Senate in February approved on third and final reading a bill that will set up maritime zones and territories in the South China Sea and Benham Rise in the West Pacific.
The bill, which he has sponsored, also seeks to penalize foreign actors in these maritime zones with fines of at least $600,000 (P35 million) payable to the Philippine government.
The South China Sea is a conduit for more than $3 trillion worth of ship-borne commerce each year and is a major source of tension between the Philippines and China.
Mr. Tolentino earlier filed a bill setting a fine of as much as P10 million against ships that fail to help vessels and people in distress within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone in the waterway.
China’s coast guard this week said it had on humanitarian grounds “allowed” the Philippines to evacuate a person who had fallen ill on a rusting warship beached on the Second Thomas Shoal, a claim Manila’s coast guard said was “ridiculous.”
“This statement confirms their illegal deployment of vessels within our EEZ (exclusive economic zone) and highlights their government’s view that the preservation of human life and welfare requires approval,” Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tristan Tarriela said on X.
In a statement, the Chinese Coast Guard said it had monitored the entire rescue operation on Sunday, which a spokesperson said was made at the request of the Philippines.
The Philippine coast guard then reported “numerous obstructing and delaying maneuvers” by China’s coast guard while it carried out the medical evacuation.
A month ago, the PCG accused its Chinese counterpart of blocking a medical evacuation from the warship, calling the actions “barbaric and inhumane.”
China’s Foreign ministry said on the same day that China would allow the Philippines to deliver supplies and evacuate personnel if Manila notifies Beijing ahead of a mission.
The Philippines has soldiers living aboard a rusty, aging warship at Second Thomas Shoal, which Manila grounded in 1999 to reinforce its sea claims.
China’s navy has clashed several times with Philippine forces seeking to resupply the grounded ship.
A United Nations-backed tribunal based in the Hague in 2016 voided China’s claim to more than 80% of the South China Sea for being illegal. Beijing has ignored the ruling. — John Victor D. Ordoñez