PH to compensate 2 Viet fishermen killed in West PH sea encounter

CREWMEN of a fishing boat relax after a trip to the West Philippine Sea. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The Philippine government has assured that the two Vietnamese fishermen who were killed in an encounter at the West Philippine Sea in September would be “properly compensated,” the Department of National Defense (DND) revealed on Thursday.

DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and his Vietnamese counterpart Ngo Xuan Lich discussed the incident off the coast of Pangasinan involving a Philippine Navy vessel and Vietnamese fishermen during their bilateral talks Thursday morning.

“Secretary Lorenzana relayed President Rodrigo Duterte’s assurance that the families of the Vietnamese fishermen who died in the incident will be properly compensated,” the DND said in a statement.

However, DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong told reporters in an interview that the amount of the compensation has not been mentioned.

“Hindi nabanggit ng Presidente pero nag-commit siya that he will compensate those who were killed,” he said.

(It was not mentioned by the President but he committed that he will compensate those who were killed.)

Investigation is also underway on the Navy personnel involved in the incident.

Based on reports received by the DND, a Navy ship chased a Vietnamese vessel caught illegally fishing 34 nautical miles off Cape Bolinao, a part of the West Philippine Sea within the exclusive economic zone, last September 23. The Navy ship fired warning shots at the Vietnamese vessel as the fishermen tried to evade arrest.

Subsequent search on the Vietnamese fishing vessel by Navy personnel yielded two dead Vietnamese.

Lich suggested the establishment of a concrete mechanism between the navies of both countries to avoid a similar incident from happening in the future.

The two defense chiefs also tackled the possibility of increasing the existing opportunities for exchange of senior and junior officers, information and intelligence exchange, joint training, and addressing non-traditional security challenges.   /kga