The crew of fishing boat F/B Gem-Ver 1, which sank after it was rammed by a Chinese vessel at Recto Bank in the West Philippine Sea in June 2019, will receive P6 million in compensation—half of what was originally being asked for by the fishermen and the boat owner, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Thursday.
The Department of Justice previously said the crewmen and the boat owner were asking for P12 million in compensation.
“I understand that the owner of FB Gem-Ver will receive the amount on behalf of the fishermen and himself,” Guevarra said.
In 2019, Chinese fishing vessel Yuemaobinyu 42212 rammed Gem-Ver before abandoning 22 Filipino fishermen in the open sea for at least four hours. The crew were rescued by a passing Vietnamese vessel.
The owner of the Chinese ship extended his apology to the fishermen through the Philippine Embassy in China.
Beijing said the Chinese vessel did not intend to abandon the Filipino crew but was forced to sail away for fear of being surrounded by several other Filipino boats near the area—a claim belied by the fishermen.
President Rodrigo Duterte also apologized to the fishermen even as he described the ramming as a “little maritime incident.”
In September 2020, Guevarra said based on the testimonies given by the fishermen, the amount of compensation was pegged at P12 million.
“From their report, the total estimated civil damages amount to something like P12 million plus for the repair of the fishing boat, for lost income and wages for a period of six months. The owner of the vessel also asked for moral damages,” Guevarra said.
In a 14-page report dated June 20, 2019, the Philippine Coast Guard and the Maritime Industry Authority PCG-Marina said the Recto Bank incident was a “very serious marine casualty.”
The Chinese vessel, the report said, abandoned the Filipino crew despite “direct knowledge of their distress situation.”
“By maneuvering back and stopping approximately 50 meters away from FB ‘Gem-Ver’ with her fishing lights open, the other vessel can be considered to have direct knowledge of the distress situation,” the document read.
The report said this was in violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea.