The militant fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya or National Alliance of Small Fisherfolk Organizations) said on March 15 that the dismissal of the case against and the subsequent release of 22 Chinese fishermen last March 14 was meant to appease the Chinese government currently irked over the scandal and diplomatic repercussions created by the controversial Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU).
BY GERRY ALBERT CORPUZ
Contributed to Bulatlat
Vol. VIII, No. 7, March 16-29, 2008
The militant fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya or National Alliance of Small Fisherfolk Organizations) said on March 15 that the dismissal of the case against and the subsequent release of 22 Chinese fishermen last March 14 was meant to appease the Chinese government currently irked over the scandal and diplomatic repercussions created by the controversial Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU).
“We see this as a diplomatic goodwill measure of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the Chinese government currently dismayed with the government’s handling of the RP-China offshore mining deal in the Spratlys. It is like the Philippine President saying to the Chinese bureaucrat-capitalists, ‘Don’t worry, we are in control of the situation and you will get what you want in exchange for that $8-billion loan to my presidency,’” Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said in a press statement emailed to Bulatlat.
The special court handling the environmental cases in Palawan dismissed the cases against the suspected Chinese poachers who were arrested in 2006 near Balacbac islands some 270 kilometers south of Puerto Princesa City.
Palawan Regional Trial Court Branch 52 Judge Toribio Ilao ruled in favor of the 22 Chinese fishermen, who asserted that they were already outside the country’s territorial waters and inside Malaysia off Manganese Island when Philippine authorities arrested them in October 2006.
“$8 billion is $8 billion. It is a huge fortune that would last for a lifetime. The corrupt and bankrupt presidency of Mrs. Arroyo will practically do everything, anything to keep that fortune at the expense of truth, justice and accountability,” Pamalakaya’s Hicap added.
“The release of 22 Chinese poachers is part of that immoral confidence building on the part of the Philippine government to indicate that it is willing to push through its partnership in crime with China,” he added.
In his ruling, Judge Ilao said the prosecution witnesses has provided inconsistent testimonies to establish that the Chinese were actually fishing near Manganese Island, Palawan’s southernmost tip. He rejected the prosecution’s position that the arrest was valid since it was done during a hot pursuit operation. The prosecution maintained that the 22 Chinese poachers violated Sections 87 and 88 of the Fisheries Code of 1998.
Since the decision was issued on Friday, the prosecution was not given an opportunity to contest the decision of the Palawan RTC – which might result in the immediate release of the 22 Chinese poachers.
Not April 28
Meanwhile, Pamalakaya asked Senate President Manuel Villar to convene the Senate Committee of the Whole to undertake the investigation on the JMSU. The militant group said the proposal of Sen.Miriam Defensor-Santiago, chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, that she handles or leads the investigation will not suffice since the issue involves a lot of concerns like foreign relations, constitutional issues and graft and corruption especially since the deal was tied up to an $8-billion dollar loan from China meant to fund equally scandalous projects like the ZTE broadband deal.
Pamalakaya also said the Senate convening itself as a whole should schedule the hearings on the Spratly Islands deal right after the Holy Week break and not April 28 as suggested by Santiago.
“Why April 28? The outraged public cannot wait for April 28. This is a matter of life and death, and such delay is not acceptable. Let the Spratly investigation begin right after the Holy Week break,” the group said.
Pamalakaya also express doubts on Santiago’s credibility in leading the investigation, adding that aside from being a “certified puppet” of the Arroyo presidency she is known for compromising Philippine sovereignty to favor any foreign power as indicated by her position on the equally controversial Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement or JPEPA.
“This self-proclaimed expert on international law should not be trusted by any decent thinking and patriotic Filipino. She is a champion of political mediocrity in the country,” the militant group said.
