Chinese official likely to cancel visit to RP

A senior Chinese official is likely to cancel his visit to the Philippines if the cases filed against some 62 Chinese fishermen last year is not resolved.

Sources at the Department of Foreign Affairs said Wu Bangguo, who ranks sixth in the Chinese leadership, has been impatient on the fate of their fishermen arrested and detained for illegal fishing and poaching in Philippine waters.

"It’s not categorical, but there are hints that the visit would be more definite with a resolution of the cases of the Chinese fishermen," a source said.

The visit of Wu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, is scheduled on May to turn over the chairmanship of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Union to House Speaker Jose De Venecia Jr. However, diplomatic sources said "concessions" for the Chinese official are not likely to be resorted to at the expense of Philippine laws.

"I also maintain the enforcement of laws should always take precedence over bilateral relations of countries," another source said.

Beijing wants the release of its fishermen in Palawan and Cagayan but the government maintained that their release should be made only within Philippine laws. The sources added that Beijing’s desire to have their detained fishermen freed could be justified because the cases have not yet been resolved for almost a year now since they were apprehended.

"Our wheels of justice turn so very, very slowly. The time they have served might be enough to cover whatever sentence the courts imposed on them," a source said. They added that the detention of the fishermen could take longer if the courts uphold the charge of poaching.

The Fisheries Code provides that the fine is very stiff such that the Philippine government sometimes "informally advises" the fishermen to plead guilty for illegal entry to get a lower penalty. Under the Fisheries Code, each boat seized by Philippine authorities is fined with $50,000. Sources said the Chinese boats are only worth $5,000.

Last September, Philippine authorities arrested 122 Chinese fishermen for poaching and illegal possession of endangered marine species off Palawan. The government agreed to release 122 fishermen jailed in Palawan in time for the four-day visit of Li Peng, head of the National People’s Congress of China. — Pia Lee -Brago