EDITORIAL - Shameless act

There should be no argument that criminal charges ought to be filed against those Philippine Coast Guard personnel who got involved in a shooting incident that resulted in the death of a Taiwanese fisherman, never mind if that fisherman, along with several others, was poaching in our territorial waters.

But the charges should be filed only on the basis of the evidence gathered, and not because the Philippines stands to suffer from an economic fallout or some other Taiwanese backlash, as what Manila Economic and Cultural Office chairman Amadeo Perez has suggested.

On whose side is Perez anyway? The Philippines must stick to the evidence and not listen to him. Perez tried to hide his true feelings in an interview on ANC by saying he has nothing against the Coast Guard, apparently not realizing just how patronizing he sounded.

There is no doubt the Philippines will suffer from a Taiwanese backlash if Taipei does not get what it wants, which is the prosecution of the Coast Guard personnel involved. But Filipinos do not need to hear it from Perez. More importantly, Filipinos need not hear it at all.

For what does it say about us? That we are willing to send a few sacrificial lambs to the gallows just for the sake of pleasing a country more powerful than us, and in the process save ourselves some economic leverage? If the culprits must be punished, let them be punished because the evidence says they must.

What we should never do, on the other hand, is parlay our men in uniform for the economic benefits Perez seems to brag about, no matter how big and significant those benefits may be. To do so cheapens the lives of every man and woman who takes up the uniform to serve the country.

What will our soldiers say? That they do not really serve to protect the sovereignty of our country but take up the uniform, and with it the possibility of sacrificing their lives, for use as pawns in the economic power deals nations play among themselves?

Again, if the evidence warrants, then the Coast Guard personnel must be punished. But they should not be punished merely to keep our economic relations with Taiwan going. Doing so is the most shameless act a nation can do to its soldiers. The cost of our economic relations with Taiwan may be in billions. But even that can't pay for the lives of innocent men.