MANILA, Philippines — Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Monday said Manila and Beijing will discuss in June the compensation for crew of the GemVer, the Filipino fishing boat rammed and sunk by a Chinese vessel in 2019.
Guevarra in a message said the meetings are set on June 2 and 7, where they hope to "put a close to this festering issue" that came nearly two years ago near the Recto Bank.
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DOJ will lead the country's contingent with officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Agriculture, and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
"The matter of compensation for the GemVer fishing boat incident was discussed last Friday during the 6th consultative meeting between the Philippines and China," he said.
Prosecutors last year set an amount of P12 million or nearly $250,000 as payment to the 22 fishermen of the GemVer. It would cover repair costs, lost income and civil and moral damages.
The said fishermen were left at sea by the Chinese vessel that rammed their boat on the night of June 9, 2019. It was only through a passing Vietnamese vessel that they were rescued.
It drew public outrage at home, and President Rodrigo Duterte calling it a "little maritime accident" was also criticized. Two years on, Chinese incursions in Philippine waters continue, despite diplomatic protests and the President fostering close ties with Beijing.
In April this year, the US-based think tank Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative said the Chinese ships spotted in the Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef in the West Philippine Sea came from the said port as the vessel that sank the GemVer.
"As far as the Filipino fishermen are concerned, it is important that they recover fully their expenses for the boat repair and the income they lost while the boat was under repair," Guevarra added.
GemVer owner and operator Arlinda dela Torre had managed to have the boat fixed and return it out to sea, only to be damaged later by a typhoon in December of that year. — Christian Deiparine with reports from Kristine Joy Patag, and Evelyn Macairan/The STAR