Report on Taiwan fisherman shooting submitted to justice

MANILA - Philippine Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said on Tuesday that the National Bureau of Investigation has submitted to her its report on the fatal shooting of a Taiwan's fisherman by members of the Philippine Coast Guard on May 9.

De Lima made the confirmation through a text message, saying she received the NBI report on Tuesday.

She said she might submit the report to President Aquino on Tuesday. De Lima however declined to discuss the content of the report.

NBI deputy director Virgilio Mendez said among the issues tackled in the report was whether the incident took place within the Philippine territory, and whether the PCG action of shooting at the Taiwan's fishermen was a defensive act.

The submission of the report came on the heels of a recent dialogue between the NBI and a team from Taiwan which was conducting a parallel investigation into the death of fisherman Hung Shih-Cheng.

Last month, an investigating team from the NBI went to Taiwan to gather more information, interview the other fishermen and examine the vessel that was allegedly fired at by PCG crewmen. Similarly, the Taiwan team also examined the Coastguard vessel and viewed the video of the incident allegedly taken by PCG.

The shooting incident happened at sea 164 nautical miles southeast of Taiwan on May 9, when Philippine Coast Guard officers shot and killed 65-year-old Taiwan fisherman Hung Shih-Cheng.