Gem-Ver fishers finally getting P6M compensation

FILE: The crew of the FB Gem-Ver 1 —PHOTO BY RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines — Almost three years after what President Duterte played down as a “little maritime accident,” the 22 fishermen left for dead by a Chinese trawler that rammed their small fishing boat in the West Philippine Sea will finally receive compensation.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra confirmed on Thursday that a settlement for the damage claims of the Gem-Ver 1 fishermen against the owners of the Chinese vessel Yuemaobinyu 42212 amounting to P6 million has been agreed upon.

The amount is only half of the P12 million in civil damages that Gem-Ver 1’s owner and crew members had demanded.

Gem-Ver 1, a 14-ton fishing boat from San Jose, Occidental Mindoro province, sank after it was rammed by the Chinese trawler while anchored at Recto (Reed) Bank shortly before midnight on June 9, 2019.

Recto Bank, about 275 kilometers west of El Nido, Palawan province, is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the West Philippine Sea.

Instead of helping them, the Chinese vessel abandoned the Filipino fishermen struggling to keep afloat in the high seas in the dark. They were eventually rescued by a Vietnamese fishing boat two hours after the collision.

The incident drew public outrage in the Philippines.

Critics said the ramming highlighted the dangers of the unabated incursions of Chinese vessels into Philippine waters.

They also claimed that the President’s appeasement policy toward Beijing emboldened Chinese fishermen to steal marine resources within the country’s 370-km EEZ.

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