More on muro-ami fishing

Before I left for my trip to Puerto Princesa via Manila, the report was that the CIDG was studying for days the three officials of the F/B San Pio for using the banned muro-ami fishing method.

Of course, Rep. Ignacio Arroyo, (5th district, Negros Occidental) also vowed to pursue a legislative hearing on the muro-ami scandal despite the fact that at least two Negros Occidental residents was reported still on board.

And, yes, there were reportedly more "fishermen" recruits going through the ordeal, which was described by some of the 21 "rescued" Negrenses as brutal and inhuman working conditions.

The disturbing thing, though, is that the CIDG is adopting is a personal responsibility approach in the case when it should be the systems approach they should use in solving the issue.

In short, what should be tackled by the investigators is the fishing method used and the apparent reasons of the "recruits" from the hinterlands and upper areas of Negros Occidental province.

Rep. Antonio Alvarez (first district, Palawan) recalled that the term in the license of the boat used in a similar incident was "pailing." In reality, however, the method used was muro-ami. The young fishermen who jumped ship and had to be rescued by local officials described how they were forced to dive deep into the waters and hammer the corral or use pump air to drive the fish into the nets.

The Social Welfare department and a non-government organization brought back the "jumpers" to Dumaguete. Later, Negros Oriental authorities adopted a guideline to enforce strictly the ban of the recruitment of minors to work as fishermen.

And they promised to ban the fishing method.

But after the hulabaloo and all the dramatic resolves, just this year, parents and relatives of several Negrenses "recruits" on board the San Pio sought the help of Rep. Arroyo to rescue their children and menfolk, detailing the difficulties they were subjected to.

Understandably, Arroyo focused his attention on getting his trapped constituents off the boat first. The first group of eight fishermen managed to get off in Navotas after they had repaid the P3,500 "anticipo" or advance payment loaned to them by their recruiter, which they left with their families.

Later, 21 more managed to get off. Former board member Enrique Montilla reportedly paid an official in return for the "redemption" of the remaining fishermen.

Then came the CIDG with possible charges being filed against three ship officials of San Pio. Incidentally, I was trying to find out if the boat had touched down in Palawan.

The question, however, is whether the officials of the boat could have pulled off this illegal fishing method by themselves. Hardly believable the way the operations were described.

I am sure that Rep. Arroyo can uncover the full extent of the anomaly.

With so many witnesses so far, I was confident that Rep. Arroyo may finally convince CIDG to dig deeper into the case and file the corresponding charges against the fishing firm and its officials.

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No to arming journalists

There has been proposals lately to make it easy for journalists to own firearms for their protection as a result of the sudden upsurge of killings and attempts on the lives of newsmen.

I am sure that there are many among my colleagues who welcome the proposal, especially as several more were reportedly ambushed with two more broadcasters assassinated recently. Those two joined the long list of Filipino journalists killed in this country.

So far, even with the identification of several of the assassins, including a Mindanao policeman, nobody has yet been prosecuted for the series of killings.

But the fundamental issue is: Will arming newsmen provide them security?

Off hand, that sounds commonsensical. An armed journalist is expectedly no defenseless target of a gunman or gunmen.

But owning a gun is not a solution to the problem. First, the journalist must learn how to care for his gun. At the same time, he or she must also learn how to use his gun. At least, he must learn how to fire it. But he must also know how to fire accurately so that he'll have a fighting chance. That means a lot of target practice and additional expenses.

Another thing, one must undergo a battery of tests — psychological and emotional.

The more important thing, however, is for journalists to remain very professional. When one is fair and professional although Filipinos are very personalistic, it is very unlikely that anyone would attack a journalist.

More importantly, police agencies should address honest-to-goodness the killings and track down the suspects for prosecution.

And the public, too, must both protect newsmen and help prosecute the perpetrators of the killings.

But arming newsmen will not solve the problem of how to improve their protection.

Imagine a meeting of journalists of various persuasions, each armed with an automatic. That’s a potentially more dangerous situation. It is always better when newsmen gather, aware that one can win arguments or debates only through reason.

* * *

We came to Puerto Princesa to intern my younger brother, Dr. "Dodge" Doroteo Gerundio L. Espina who died Tuesday morning. He will be buried Wednesday at the Puerto Memorial Park.

Dodge remains lies in state at the residence of Rep. Antonio Alvarez, whose wife, Melanie, is Dodge’s daughter.