By Pat C. Santos
The Daily Tribune
The Daily Tribune
PALACE REJECTS RESULTS OF PROBE
Taiwanese Hung Shih-Chen who died from shots of Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) units chasing his fishing boat last week was murdered, according to the Taiwan official who heads the investigation team after a three-day probe conducted with their local counterparts.
Chen Wen Chi, director of the international Cross Strait Legal Affairs under Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice and who headed a 13-men probe team, added that the Philippine government tried to delay an approval of their request for a joint investigation.
The Taiwanese group also expressed discontent over the lack of sincerity exhibited by the Philippine side in cooperating in the investigation.
Malacañang immediately rejected Taiwan’s allegations that Filipino coast guards had intentionally murdered the Taiwanese fisherman.
Chen, head of the Taiwan team investigating the May 9 incident, said most of the bullets had hit the fishing boat’s cockpit where its crew hid.
“By combining the… evidence, it clearly shows that the Philippine law enforcers were intentionally shooting the Guang Ta Hsin 28 crew members, which indicates their intent of murder,” Chen told reporters.
The shooting, which Manila insists occurred inside Philippine territorial waters but which Taipei counters happened within its exclusive economic zone, has led to Taiwanese sanctions against its neighbor.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and President Aquino’s spokesman Ricky Carandang rejected the murder allegations.
All members of the Taiwan team immediately left the country after issuing the results of its probe. The investigation team was dispatched by the Taiwanese government with their Philippine counterparts providing assistance in the collection and inspection of evidence and in interrogating those involved primarily the crew of the PCG vessel that figured in the encounter.
It further stated that “based on the anonymous reports, the Philippine media has mentioned that the Philippine government is already in possession of a video tape of the incident and other relevant evidence.”
“From the beginning, all the statements made by Taiwan government have always been in accordance to the results of our investigation. However the Philippine government has continuously accused and labeled the victim as a villain in the incident, without disclosing sufficient evidence to back-up their claims,” according to the report. Therefore we strongly urge the Philippine government to follow the same standard that the Taiwan has done faithfully that they should first present their evidence before directing meaningless claims and accusation against the victim.
“If they are unable to produce sufficient evidence that will deem their claims as legitimate, it can be said that the PH government is purposely concealing the offense of their official,” the statement said.
“There is an investigation ongoing so any premature statements that tend to confuse the issues and inflame passions should be avoided,” Carandang said.
De Lima in a separate statement also urged everyone to refrain from making statements “that would further fuel or aggravate the prevailing tension between the Philippines and Taiwan.”
Chen’s comments echoed those made by Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou in Taipei on Friday.
“If (Philippine) civil servants used automatic weapons to fire at unarmed and unprovocative fishing boats, this was not carrying out their job duties. This is cold-blooded murder,” Ma said.
Aquino made a “personal” apology on Wednesday over the “unintended” death arising from the patrol’s duty of protecting Philippine waters against illegal fishing.
Manila insisted its forces fired in self-defense to disable the boat’s engine and prevent it from ramming the patrol craft.
Taiwan has rejected the apology. It recalled its de facto envoy, banned the hiring of new Philippine workers and staged a military drill in waters off the northern Philippines earlier this week.
The Philippines officially recognizes China over Taipei but maintains trade ties with the island, which employs about 87,000 Filipinos.
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