TUGUEGARAO CITY – Five Vietnamese minors remain under the custody of the social welfare office in Batanes while awaiting the local court’s decision on the illegal fishing and poaching case filed against them and seven others.
Senior Superintendent Delfin Millo, Batanes police director, said the five minors aged 15 to 17 were part of a 12-man crew of the Vietnamese vessel QNG 5770 who were arrested by a joint team of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and maritime police last year.
The seven Vietnamese adults, according to Millo, are under the custody of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Batanes. A government attorney is assisting them in their case.
“The Vietnamese, including the minors, have been languishing in Batanes since May last year, while their case has been dragging on in court. I feel that the government has to do something at least for the minors,” Millo said.
Millo said it seemed that the Vietnamese authorities have shown no interest in the case.
The illegal fishing and poaching case against the 12 Vietnamese is one of the very few cases pending before the courts in Batanes, described as the country’s most peaceful province.
Millo, whose men are only acting as witnesses in the case, said there have been practically no crimes in the island-province since mid-2007, except a vehicular accident and a stolen coconut crab.
Dr. Jovita Ayson, BFAR regional director, said the 12 Vietnamese, including the five minors, were charged with violation of Section 87 of Republic Act 8550 or the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 (poaching in Philippine waters) and violation of Sections 87 and 97 of the same law, specifically dealing with illegal fishing of threatened or endangered marine species.
In their defense, the Vietnamese claimed that they were only seeking medical attention and repairing their boat’s engine when local authorities apprehended them off Sabtang, Batanes on May 30 last year.
Their boat sank when a strong typhoon battered Batanes last October while their trial was ongoing.
According to BFAR, the third hearing in the case is scheduled next week.
The provincial government has called for a speedy resolution of the case against the 12 Vietnamese, claiming it does not have enough funds to shoulder their food needs.
Police said the Vietnamese failed to present a government permit to fish in Philippine waters after they were discovered to be foreigners.
Found in their vessel were more than 1.5 metric tons of lobsters, groupers, snappers and other types of fish, as well as endangered or protected fish species and other aquatic creatures, including sabalo or mother bangus, sea turtles, and shells and corals.