There will be no joint probe into the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman on a boat being apprehended by the Philippine Coast Guard, but investigators from both sides will cooperate with each other in their respective tasks, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Monday.
De Lima told this to reporters after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which is under her office, met with Taiwanese officials Monday morning.
She described the outcome thus: “There would be coordinated
efforts or collaboration between two teams.”
A joint probe is not an easy proposition, de Lima said, adding, “I mean… It’s not advisable to agree to a joint probe. Aside from sovereignty issues involved, there are also foreign policy implications because you know [we have] the One China policy.”
Those working in a joint probe must be together “every step of the way. They must agree on every aspect, on every finding,” she added.
Despite the agreement not to hold a joint inquiry, the investigators from NBI and their counterparts expect some help from each other. An NBI team is flying to Taiwan to get statements from other fishermen who were at the scene when a joint Coast Guard-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) team apprehended four Taiwanese boats for illegal fishing in the Balintang Channel off the northern Philippines coast on May 9.
Well within PH territory
De Lima, meanwhile, asserted that the incident happened within Philippine territory, squelching attempts by some quarters to frame it as an incident in disputed waters.
In so far as the Philippine government is concerned, she said, “it happened in Philippine waters … now, is that material or not?… Let’s see if that is material to the result. Since there was an incident where someone fired and someone died, an investigation is imperative . . . But in so far as we are concerned that’s within Philippine waters.”
‘Murder’ conclusion premature
The DOJ chief also regarded as “premature” the conclusion in a Taiwanese government report released Saturday, describing what happened as a “murder” by Philippine authorities of an unarmed fisherman.
“How can they say it’s murder when not all of the evidence is in?” she added, noting the unfinished tasks of both Manila and Taipei investigators. “At this point we can neither confirm nor reject any such conclusion about murder because there’s no conclusion yet in the investigation.”
A special Philippine panel is hearing the testimonies from 13 PCG and BFAR personnel, who have since been relieved of their duties. The men said they had fired at the Taiwanese boat in self defense because the fishing boat had repeatedly tried to ram the Philippine vessel to prevent authorities from boarding the former.
Moving forward
Notwithstanding the decision to rule out a joint investigation, the NBI will still assist the Taiwanese probers who continue to do their work despite Saturday’s release of the “premature” report.
Among others, the Taiwanese officials will be allowed to inspect the BFAR-PCG vessel, and to examine the team’s firearms that were surrendered to the NBI. The first report released by Taipei last Saturday was just based on the forensic evidence on the fishing boat that is now back in Taiwan.
The NBI, meantime, was given clearance to fly to Taiwan to inspect the Taiwanese fishing boat, and talk to the fishermen-companions of the fatality.
Manila authorities have not yet given the go-ahead for the Taiwanese side to interview the local Coast Guard, but allowed the NBI to share their affidavits with them.
The Philippine request for a re-autopsy of the fisherman will depend solely on the man’s family, said de Lima.
She said a re-autopsy would be “ideal and desirable. But whether it is crucial,” de Lima added, she does not deem the re-autopsy as indispensable to the investigation.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/62199/no-ph-taiwan-joint-probe-but-2-sides-agree-to-help-respective-fact-finding-teams
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