Philippine boat likely fired heavy guns: prosecutor

2013/05/11 16:34:19

(By Chen Chao-fu and Elizabeth Hsu)
enditem /pc

Taipei, May 11 (CNA) The Taiwanese fishing boat that was fired on Thursday by a Philippine government vessel was riddled with bullet holes, which suggests that "heavy weapons " were probably used in the incident, a Taiwan prosecutor said Saturday.

A total of 52 bullet holes were found on the Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28, said Liu Chia-kai from the Pingtung District Prosecutors Office after examining the 15-ton vessel that is registered in Liouciou Township, Pingtung County, in southern Taiwan.

On the port side, there are 10 holes where the bullets penetrated parts of the boat that are quite thick, which means they may have been shot from "heavy weapons," but it could not be ascertained whether they were from 50-caliber machine guns, Liu said.

Ballistics analysis will be carried out on the bullet shells that were found on the boat, and the 52 bullet holes have been photographed as evidence, he added.

The boat is "a scene of devastation," said one of the forensics technicians who checked the boat, which is now docked at Ta Fu fishing port on Siaoliouciou Island off Pingtung.

A 65-year-old Taiwanese fisherman Hung Shih-cheng was killed when the Philippine government vessel opened fire on the the Kuang Ta Hsing on which he was working.

Taiwan prosecutors said Hung was killed by a bullet that penetrated the right side of his neck. Liu has asked that the body be taken to Kaohsiung for forensic examination.

The shooting took place 164 nautical miles southeast of Taiwan's southernmost tip Thursday, in waters in the overlapping exclusive economic zones of Taiwan and the Philippines.

Taiwan has said that the Philippines should take full responsibility for the shooting, which it described as "excessive use of force."

"Under no circumstances should a Philippine government vessel shoot at a Taiwanese fishing boat that is not armed," Foreign Minister David Lin said Friday, stressing that the incident occurred in the overlapping economic zones of the two countries.

Meanwhile, Hung Yu-chih, skipper of the Kuang Ta Hsing and son of Hung Shih-cheng, denied that the incident was triggered by his attempt to ram the Philippine government vessel.

Hung Yu-chih said it was not possible for his boat to ram the much bigger Philippine vessel and that the crew had not taken any aggressive action as a Phillippine Presidential Office spokesman claimed.

After the shooting began, the unarmed fishing boat attempted to flee as fast as possible, he said, stressing that it was the other vessel that opened fire.

"The bullets came like rain," forcing the fishing boat crew to seek shelter in the cabin, but that is where his father was shot, the skipper said.

Crucial reforms at stake in Monday’s polls

By Karl Malakunas
Agence France-Presse

Election posters of national and local candidates fill a vacant lot along Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City. INQUIRER/RAFFY LERMA

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines holds elections on Monday seen as crucial to President Benigno Aquino’s efforts to transform society, but with deadly violence, corruption, and nepotism posing familiar threats.
More than 18,000 positions will be contested in the mid-term elections — from the town level up to the nation’s Congress — and Aquino is banking on landslide wins for his allies to cement his reform agenda.
“The President needs to be able to have a strong coalition in both houses of Congress to be able to push through critical measures,” Budget Secretary and ruling Liberal Party powerbroker Florencio Abad told Agence France-Presse.
Since taking office in 2010 following a landslide election win, Aquino has maintained record high popularity ratings while overseeing strong economic growth and efforts to tackle corruption that have won international acclaim.
In the Philippines, presidents can only serve one term of six years, and Aquino has said he is determined to leave a permanent legacy that will ensure the Philippines is no longer the “sick man of Asia”.
One key plank is ending a decades-long Muslim rebellion in the south of the country that has claimed an estimated 150,000 lives and stifled economic growth.
Aquino is close to signing a peace deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the main rebel group, but he will then need Congress to endorse the pact.
All the seats in the lower house and half in the Senate are being contested in the mid-term elections.
The Philippines has a plethora of parties, and politicians frequently shift allegiances, so controlling Congress is extremely difficult.
But Aquino secured support for key reform initiatives in his first three years in office, and he is confident that big victories in both chambers on Monday will ensure an even more productive second half of his term.
Abad said other initiatives that Aquino was eyeing over the next three years included expanding the tax base to pay for a better social safety net, and reform of the mining sector so that big firms pay higher taxes.
However, deep-rooted problems that have plagued the Philippines for decades are expected to again impact Monday’s election, and continue to haunt the political landscape long after Aquino has left office.
The Philippines is infamous for a brutal brand of democracy where politicians — particularly at the local and provincial levels — are willing to bribe, intimidate or kill to ensure they win.
More than 50 people have already been killed in election-related violence, including candidates and their aides. Philippine military and police will be on high alert Monday in a bid to stamp out any last-minute attacks.
Efforts by the Commission on Elections to curb violence and vote-buying turned into farce in the final days of campaigning, when the Supreme Court blocked the commission from enforcing controversial bans on selling alcohol and carrying large amounts of money.
Activists have warned that political dynasties which dominate politics in the Philippines, including the Aquino clan, are set to strengthen their chokehold on the country.
The Philippines is ruled by remarkably few families — with roughly 70 percent of the members of current Congress belonging to a dynasty — and polls are showing the elite are set to become even more dominant.
A host of colorful names are contesting the elections, including boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao, who is seeking a second term as a member of the lower house.
Pacquiao, a former street kid but now one of the country’s richest men, is looking to create his own dynasty.
His wife, Jinkee, is running to become vice governor of a southern province despite having no political experience, while one of his brothers is also running for Congress.
Imelda Marcos, wife of dead dictator Ferdinand, is almost certain to win a second term in the lower house at the age of 83 representing a northern province where her family enjoys dynastic rule.
Her daughter is running unopposed for provincial governor

Philippines probes shooting death of Taiwanese

By Tarra Quismundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—Facing yet another flashpoint over disputes in the West Philippine Sea, the country’s top diplomat said Saturday that the Philippine maritime agencies have initiated an investigation into the “unfortunate” shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman off Batanes, maintaining that the incident occurred during lawful operations within territorial waters.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said Saturday that the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources are already looking into the incident Thursday, when PCG officers fired at a Taiwanese fishing boat in an apparent effort to defend themselves.

Taiwanese Hung Shih-chen, 65, was killed in the incident, raising a howl in Taiwan and strong demands for an investigation, apology and compensation.

In a statement on Saturday, Del Rosario said results of the investigation will soon be released. Notably, he referred to the shooting as an “unfortunate” incident that ensued amid legitimate anti-poaching operations of Philippine maritime agencies.

“The PCG and BFAR are now investigating the incident which resulted in the unfortunate loss of life of a Taiwanese fisherman during the routine lawful enforcement activities against poaching in Philippine waters,” said Del Rosario in a brief statement sent via text message.

“The result of the investigation will be made available in due course,” he added.

Asked whether Manila has already reached out to Taipei over the incident, Del Rosario said the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) “is in communication with the government of Taiwan.” MECO is the Philippines’ representative office in Taiwan.

The PCG had said its personnel only acted in self-defense in shooting at Taiwanese fishing vessel Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28, which at the time was sailing some 80 kilometers off the Balintang Channel near Batanes.

The vessel, then carrying three Taiwanese and one Indonesian as crew, allegedly tried to ram the Philippine patrol boat.

The Taiwanese side meanwhile alleged that the ship “came under attack” and that Philippine officers opened fire without any warning.

The incident happened amid still unresolved disputes in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), potentially resource-rich waters contested by the Philippines, Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia.

Now the subject of a Philippine plea before the United Nations arbitral tribunal, China was quick to criticize the incident, calling it a “barbaric” act.

China recently sent a 30-vessel fishing fleet into the West Philippine Sea, a move seen to assert its claims over almost all of the West Philippine Sea amid the Philippines’ move to halt its string of incursions into established maritime boundaries.