MANILA, Philippines — The captain of a Filipino fishing boat sank by a Chinese vessel near Recto Bank expressed disappointment over President Rodrigo Duterte's comments on the incident.
After more than a week of staying silent on the issue, the president downplayed the collision and called it a "little maritime accident."
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Junel Insigne, the captain of F/B Gem-Vir 1, earlier backed out of his supposed meeting with the president in Manila.
"Nalulungkot po ako dahil balewala lang po 'yung pagbangga sa amin. Paano po kung marami namatay po sa amin," Insigne told ABS-CBN's "Umagang Kay Ganda" Tuesday morning.
Insigne and 21 other Filipino fishermen survived the collision but their boat sank. A Vietnamese fishing vessel in the vicinity rescued the Filipino fishermen hours after the incident.
The captain of the Filipino boat added that the government should at least acknowledge that the Chinese ship rammed them.
"Anuhin lang po sana na talagang binangga po kami talaga," he said.
Speaking at the 121st anniversary of the Philippine Navy in Cavite, Duterte said tension could not arise with China just because of the collision in the West Philippine Sea.
"The only thing we can do is to wait and give the other party the right to be heard. That’s important. China, you have given a lot of things. What’s the truth?" Duterte said. — Patricia Lourdes Viray