A year later, still no trial for poachers

A year after government authorities apprehended 30 Chinese poachers off World Heritage Site Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP) for illegally taking more than a thousand live fish, including the endangered Napoleon wrasse locally known as Mameng, not a single one of the foreign fishermen was ever arraigned.

The Tubbataha Management Office (TMO) said the defense panel has been filing numerous motions, including a motion for a review of the case, which successfully delayed the trial against the Chinese crew of vessel Hoi Wan.

“There was never an arraignment, which means that we have yet to have a trial against the poachers,” an apparently dismayed park manager Angelique Songco told The STAR.

It was also learned that one of the crew was allowed by the court to go home to China due to the death of his child. However, the court only allowed the Chinese fisherman to be away for 30 days, as he was ordered to come back after the period.

The court order allowing the foreign fisherman to go home to China was issued on Sept. 19, but the poacher has not returned to the Philippines until today.

According to the TMO, there were a total of eight charges filed against the Chinese crew in the regional trial court (RTC) and municipal trial court (MTC) for violating several provisions in the Fisheries Code and environmental laws of the country.

Specifically, the three cases filed before the Puerto Princesa City RTC consist of the Chinese fishermen’s violation of Sections 87, 97, and 100 of the Fisheries Code of the Philippines (RA 8550) on poaching in Philippine waters, fishing or taking of rare, threatened, or endangered species, and importation or exportation of fish of protected species.

On the other hand, the five cases filed before the MTC of Palawan include charges of violations of the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act or Republic Act 7586; Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act (RA 9147) on possession of wildlife, their products, and derivatives; Sec. 3 of Provincial Ordinance 819; and obstruction of justice.

On Dec. 21, 2006, a composite team of the Philippine Navy and TMO personnel arrested the 30 Chinese nationals within 1.5 kilometers of the TRNP, a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site.

The Chinese nationals were aboard Hoi Wan, a Chinese vessel chartered by Tawi-Tawi based live fish trading company South Pacific Inter-marketing Corp., and were cruising the area when spotted and apprehended by authorities.

As part of standard operating procedure, the TRNP rangers immediately stopped the boat and conducted routine checking of the vessel.

During the inspection, however, authorities found the Chinese nationals in possession of 1,200 pieces of live fish, including 300 pieces of Napoleon wrasse.

This prompted the team to arrest the Chinese nationals and hold their vessel.

Reports that reached the TMO in Puerto Princesa City in Palawan, which is 150 kilometers from the Tubbataha Reefs, revealed that the live fish were taken from Tawi-Tawi and were supposed to be transported to Hong Kong.

The Napoleon wrasse is a protected and endangered species worldwide under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES).

Its harvest and trade is illegal without proper permits issued by the recognized national CITES authority.

Mere possession of the Mameng carries a fine of P120,000 and a prison term between 12 and 20 years.

The Chinese nationals were sent to jail on Jan. 1, 2007, but they were allowed to post bail and have since been occupying a rented house in Puerto Princesa City. 

Meanwhile, not all of the 1,200 confiscated live fish, including the Mameng, were sent back to the wild as many of them died before they were finally released to the TRNP last summer.