BY JEN BAYLON
A fisherman from Negros Occidental’s Victorias City died in an alleged strafing incident in the waters off Santa Fe in Cebu province’s Bantayan town on Tuesday, September 3.
The victim, identified as 45-year-old Rex dela Cruz, a resident of the city’s Barangay 9, succumbed to a gunshot injury in the chest.
His remains were brought to Cebu’s Madridejos town.
Commander Jansen Benjamin, chief of the Philippine Coast Guard-Northern Negros Occidental, said five others were on board a fishing vessel when the incident happened at around 5:00 a.m.
Benjamin said the vessel left Victorias around noon on Monday, September 2.
Barry Bagaporo, the owner of the fishing boat, said this was the first time that such an incident had occurred in his decade of operating his vessel.
Bagaporo confirmed that his commercial fishing boat was operating legally and was fully documented.
In a radio interview, boat captain John Rexel Azuelo said the perpetrators were alleged Bantay Dagat members.
Azuelo added that the assailants were wearing bonnets, while the two of them were carrying long firearms.
They intercepted their vessel and told them they were within the 12-kilometer prohibited fishing grounds.
The alleged Bantay Dagat members fled on board a motorboat after the incident, Azuelo said.
An investigation is ongoing.
Meanwhile, Madridejos Mayor Romeo Villaceran denied that the local government unit’s coast guard personnel were responsible for the alleged shooting incident.
In a radio interview yesterday, Villaceran said that the Philippine Coast Guard and local police had not conducted any maritime operations for over two weeks due to the damage to their two boats.
He emphasized that while his administration does not tolerate illegal fishing, enforcement actions typically involve warnings, fines, or imprisonment, and not shootings.
Furthermore, the mayor said no firearms were issued to the local coast guard, making the allegations of shooting unlikely.
Villaceran has condemned the incident and expressed condolences to the victim, noting that the last recorded shooting in the area was in 2017./JB, WDJ