Philippine court orders arrest of PCG men involved in killing of Taiwanese fisherman

MANILA - Philippine provincial court of Batanes has ordered the arrest of eight Philippine Coast Guard ( PCG) personnel who face homicide charges for the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman in South China Sea in May last year.

However, the court allowed the eight accused to each post 40,000 pesos (900 US dollars) bail for their liberty.

"The undersigned presiding judge personally examined the records of the case and found the Certification of the Investigating Prosecutors finding probable cause against the accused for the crime charged to have sufficient and factual legal basis," Judge Barona said in an order.

On May 9, 2013, Philippine Coast Guard members shot dead 65- year-old Taiwanese fisherman Hung Shih-Cheng in a sea area some 180 nautical miles southeast of Erluanbi, the southernmost tip of China's Taiwan. After killing the fisherman, the Filipino ship continued to chase and fire in bursts at the Taiwanese vessel.

After months of investigation, the Philippine Department of Justice (DOJ) investigating panel found in a 79-page resolution last month probable cause to file charges in court against Commanding Officer Arnold Enriquez dela Cruz and seven others for the death of Hung Shih-cheng.

The DOJ dismissed the claim of the respondents that they were forced to fire at the Taiwanese fishing boat, and the claim of the respondents that they cannot be held criminally liable for the incident as they were merely performing their lawful duties.

Instead the panel held that the respondents "all acted in unison with the common purpose of firing" at the Taiwanese fishing boat Guang Da Xing No. 28 to force it to submit to MCS-3001's inspection.

Last week, the Cagayan Municipal Trial Court Branch 11 issued an arrest warrant against dela Cruz and Mhelvin Aguilar Bendo II for the obstruction of justice case filed against them by the DOJ last month. The judge set the bail at 12,000 each (270 U.S. dollars), which can be posted in any trial court in the Philippines.