PH ‘rushing’ probe into Taiwanese fisherman’s shooting

Rappler.com

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Manila's justice department says it wants to 'douse further speculations' and finalize its part of the parallel investigation with Taipei

MANILA, Philippines – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is rushing the probe into the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman in waters disputed by the two countries, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Monday, June 3.

This is to “douse further speculations” on the matter, and transmit a final report to President  Benigno Aquino III as soon as possible. 

“Until officially submitted by the NBI to DOJ (Department of Justice) and transmitted to the President, there is no report to speak of,” De Lima said.

The justice chief acknowledged, however, that the Philippines cannot stop Taiwanese probers from releasing its own report.

The Philippines and Taiwan started their “cooperative parallel investigation” on the matter on Monday, May 27.

The Philippines has insisted the Taiwanese fishing boat intruded into its waters and that coastguards were forced to open fire when it tried to ram their vessel.

Taiwan has rejected this account, insisting the fishing boat was within its exclusive economic zone.

In a bid to settle the controversy, Manila and Taipei swapped teams of investigators. The team from Taiwan, which returned from Manila on Friday, May 31, was allowed to examine the Filipino coastguard vessel and interview the coastguards involved in the May 9 encounter, as well as being granted access to the firearms.

“Taiwan and the Philippines will meet again to discuss the findings. It is just a matter of prior notice,” De Lima told reporters in a chance interview at the DOJ.

“It will be the NBI team that will sit down with the Taiwanese team to discuss findings,” De Lima said. The case conference started last Saturday, June 1.

She said the Philippines is investigating the incident because it is under the country’s jurisdiction.

“It is territoriality. It happened in our area and personnel involved are part of the Philippines,” she said.

She said that both sides recognize each other’s jurisdiction. “The fact that we are conducting cooperative parallel investigation, there is no issue on jurisdiction,” she said.  – Ace Tamayo, with reports from the Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!