Philippine President apologizes to Vietnamese fishermen

Philippine President Duterte apologized as he sent the Vietnamese fishermen home and hoped the incident would not affect relations between the two countries.

According toRappler, Mr. Duterte's apology - given when he personally attended the farewell ceremony for 5 Vietnamese fishermen returning home at Sual Port in Pangasinan on November 29 - was related to the incident of 2 Vietnamese fishermen being shot dead by the Philippines.

The President of the Philippines talks with a Vietnamese fisherman during the farewell ceremony for them returning home. Photo: Philippine Presidential Palace

Philstar quoted Mr. Duterte as emphasizing: “I want to tell you, Vietnam, that we are one, we are Asians. I want to apologize for the incident and hope that this will never happen again.”

According to Mr. Duterte: “I have promised Vietnamese Ambassador Ly Quoc Tuan that if a similar incident occurs, please call me directly. It is very likely that such unwanted incidents will still occur in the future.” The Philippine President affirmed that the unfortunate incident with the two Vietnamese fishermen “will not be able to destroy the strong relationship between the two countries.”

Previously, on September 22, 7 Vietnamese fishermen on a fishing boat were discovered by the Philippine Navy illegally fishing in the waters near Sual Port. During the process of capturing the Vietnamese fishing boat, the Philippine Navy fired at the fishing boat, killing 2 fishermen.

A month after the incident, the Philippines apologized and promised to compensate the two Vietnamese fishermen. However, the remaining five fishermen were still prosecuted under the Philippine Fisheries Code and were forced to pay an administrative fine.

However, the Philippine government later exempted the fishermen after the five fishermen applied for clemency and poverty certificates.

President Duterte said he was willing to exempt the five Vietnamese fishermen from fines because they were living in poverty. In addition, this would help promote solidarity within ASEAN.

“I did so because I made a commitment to the ASEAN member states and they made a similar commitment. We will sincerely deal with the poor fishermen who unintentionally violate the laws of the parties,” Mr. Duterte said./.

According to VOV