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12 Sino fishers jailed in Palawan await return to China
By Ruth T. Rodriguez

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Dec. 19 (PNA) –- Twelve Chinese fishermen, who were jailed in Palawan for poaching pangolins and encroaching in the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP) in 2013, are expected to be deported to China any day now after the guilty verdict against them by Branch 51 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) was overturned December 1 by the Court of Appeals (CA).

Ferdinand Tendenilla, chief of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) in Palawan, confirmed Monday to the Philippine News Agency (PNA) that the Chinese fishermen are now in their custody following their discharge from the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm (IPPF).

Tendenilla said the 12 Sino fishers, who are all “in good health condition,” will be extradited as soon as their travel documents have been prepared by the Chinese Embassy and sent to Palawan.

“They could be deported any day now; we are just waiting for their travel documents,” the BI Palawan chief stated, adding they are also waiting for the deportation order from their head office.

The CA, in overturning the RTC’s decision on December 1, said the Chinese fishermen did not commit poaching or illegal fishing because they were not caught in the act inside the marine protected area.

It can be noted that the Sino fishermen were arrested, and convicted to serve 10-12 years imprisonment in August 2014 for violating Section 27 (Poaching) and Section 26 (Possession of Protected Species) of Republic Act 10067 or the Tubbataha Act of 2009; Article 212 (Corruption of Public Officials) of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, and administrative cases in the Tubbataha Protected Area Management Board (TPAMB).

The cases were all filed after their fishing vessel Min Long Yu ran aground in the protected reefs on April 8, 2013.

When environment authorities boarded Min Long Yu to conduct inspection, they were shocked to discover around 20,000 pounds of pangolin or scaly ant-eater meat that they suspect were caught in Palawan.

“The damage the Chinese vessel caused to the reef is heart-breaking,” said Tubbataha Management Office (TMO) Superintendent Angelique Songco, adding some that were destroyed were estimated to be about 500 years old.

Songco is yet to comment on the decision of the CA to annul the decision of the regional trial court. (PNA)

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