Orders them to pay a P100,000 fine each
(Eagle News)–A Manila court has found eight members of the Philippine Coast Guard guilty of homicide in connection with an encounter between them and Taiwanese fishermen off Balintang channel in Batanes in 2013.
Commanding officer Arnold Enriquez dela Cruz, Seaman 1st Class (SN1) Edrando Aguila, SN1 Mhelvin Bendo II, SN1 Andy Gibb Golfo, SN1 Sunny Masangcay,SN1 Henry Solomon, SN2 Nicky Renold Aurello
and Petty Officer Richard Fernandez Corpuz were sentenced to eight to 14 years in prison by Branch 15 Judge Eduardo Ramon Reyes for the May 9 incident that left Taiwanese fisherman Hong Chih Sheng dead.
Apart from jail time, the PCG personnel were also ordered to pay a P100,000 fine each–P50,00 as civil indemnity and P50,000 for moral damages.
The PCG personnel shot at Sheng’s boat, claiming it had attempted to ram a vessel of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
The incident prompted Taiwan to place sanctions on the Philippines. Madz Moratillo
