INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
LUCENA CITY — A fisherman from Sariaya town in Quezon province died and another was wounded on Wednesday after they were allegedly shot by men who claimed they were patrolling bantay-dagat (fish wardens) from neighboring San Juan town, Batangas province, the police said.
In a belated report Friday, the Quezon police said Alvin Protacio, Teody Libres, and four others were fishing at Tayabas Bay around 7:30 p.m. when the suspects accosted them for “some violations.”
The report said the fishermen tried to flee, which prompted the suspects to fire at them using still unidentified handguns.
The engine of the victim’s boat suddenly stopped while they were being chased, forcing Libres and the other fishermen to jump off, leaving Protacio behind.
The boat was later found floating in the seas of San Juan. The body of Protacio, who suffered a fatal bullet wound to his head, was found in the boat.
Investigators identified the suspects as Ernie Dimaculangan, Jayson Dela Cruz, Junior Delos Angeles, and Jonathan Dimaunahan.
The four remained at large and are the subjects of a police manhunt.
Jay Lim, information officer of the environmentalist group, Tanggol Kalikasan, citing information from Sariaya fishers, disclosed that the local fishermen “have long been being harassed and shot by armed men introducing themselves as bantay-dagat from San Juan.”
The unidentified informant alleged that they would be allowed to continue their fishing activities only “if they share some of their catch or else, they would be shot.”
The police explained that the delay in the report was caused by the confusion about where the shooting incident took place – in Sariaya or San Juan jurisdiction.
The issue was resolved after the police from both towns conducted an ocular investigation on Thursday using a GPS (global positioning system) that pointed at the exact location inside Sariaya. INQ