9 of 11 Chinese poachers charged

MANILA, Philippines - Government prosecutors charged yesterday nine of the 11 Chinese caught poaching off Palawan with violation of two laws on fisheries and wildlife protection before the Puerto Princesa City regional trial court.

Palawan Provincial Prosecutor Allen Ross Rodriguez said he found probable cause to charge the nine in court with violation of Republic Act 8550, the Fisheries Code, particularly Section 87 or poaching in Philippine waters and Section 97 or fishing or taking of rare, threatened or endangered species; and RA 9147, the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act.

In a phone interview, Rodriguez said two of the accused were turned over to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) after they were found to be minors.

In a statement, the DFA said the two minors will be turned over to the DSWD in Palawan to be released in accordance with government regulations.

“The two were confirmed to be minors after a medical check-up conducted by our medical authorities,” read the statement.

Under Philippine laws, minors cannot be prosecuted, the DFA said.

Rodriguez said a representative of the Chinese embassy assisted the nine accused poachers, who rejected the offer to be represented by a public attorney during the hearing.

“The interpreter said the respondents were insisting they were still on Chinese waters when they were arrested,” he said. “They said Half Moon Shoal is part of China.” 

Rodriguez said the rules of procedure allow investigating prosecutors to resolve criminal complaints in the absence of lawyers for respondents.

Therefore he filed the cases before the Puerto Princesa court and recommended bail of P30,000 each and P40,000 each for Sections 87 and 97 charges, he added.

Rodriguez said he required the arresting officers to present the evidence, including the fishermen’s vessel and the 350 sea turtles seized from them.

The nine Chinese will be transferred to the Palawan provincial jail once the court issues the commitment order, he added.

Illegal entry charges

Immigration officials will charge the nine Chinese caught poaching off Palawan with illegal entry to stop them from leaving the country.

Immigration Commissioner Siegfred Mison said the bureau has received the names of the nine Chinese and is checking if they have committed other violations of immigration law.

The BI is determining if any of the Chinese are undocumented, if they have passports, or if they have a record of previous visit to the country, he added.

Mison said the agency intends to charge the Chinese with other immigration offenses either yesterday afternoon or today. 

“We do not want these poachers just to be out since we saw in the initial report of the apprehending agency that they entered the Philippine territory without proper immigration formalities,” he said.

Spokesman Ma. Angelica Pedro said the nine Chinese will be turned over to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) once charges of illegal entry and other violations of immigration law have been filed against them, although they have already posted bail for the charges of poaching.  â€“  With Pia Lee-Brago, Evelyn Macairan