‘Cruel’ work conditions at sea; trafficking raps filed against boat owner, recruiter in Lapu-Lapu
Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III huddles with rescued fishermen at Sugbutel after a press conference in Cebu City.
(CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
For two months, the seas of Palawan were his home.
After boarding a commercial boat with close to a hundred other men from Cebu and Bohol, Andres, a middle-aged fisherman from Olango Island in Mactan, was expected to catch at least 200 kilos of fish a day with his workmates.
“Kung dili gani mi makaabot sa quota, dili mi pakan-on. (If we didn’t reach our quota, we wouldn’t be fed),“ he said of the Lapu-Lapu City trader who recruited them.
“Iya mi nga dapatan, dili mi padungo-on, og bisan kon naglain ang panahon kon dunay bagyo, iya gihapon mi nga papanagaton. (We would be punched. We weren’t allowed to dock even in bad weather. We had to continue fishing.)
They were advanced P15,000 to join the trip, only to be told in Palawan that they were actually in debt, and had to pay back P60,000 for expenses incurred at sea.
Andres was one of 26 Cebu fishermen and 52 from Bohol rescued last Tuesday by authorities in the town of Balabac in southwestern Palawan.
He and a second fisherman, who lost his 24-year-old brother at sea in a storm, yesterday recounted their ordeal in a press conference at the Sugbutel, where the Cebu batch was housed overnight by the Cebu provincial government.
Other rescued fishermen described how they spent long periods underwater, using tubes hooked to a compressor to breathe, so they could swim longer and pound coral reefs to scare fish into waiting nets.
Gov. Hilario Davide III confirmed that the activity was muro-ami, a fishing method banned in the Philippines since 1986, first by a Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO), and then the Fisheries Code.
“They engaged in a muro-ami-style deep sea fishing, which is prohibited by law,” said Davide.
He convened the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficiking (IACAT) bringing in law enforcers, and government agencies after he was informed by the Palawan provincial government about the rescue of over 70 fishermen.
Muro-ami has been more identified with southern Cebu towns of Oslob and Santander. The mass recruitment of fishermen for this dangerous fishing method was believed to have waned after the Abines family’s fishing monopoly and political clout declined after the 1990s.
MOSTLY FROM OLANGO
Andres’ testimony and others in the batch of 26 from Cebu showed this was not the case.
Most of them or 23 come from Olango Island and two from Cordova town in Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City. One is from Tuburan town in midwest Cebu.
The oldest is 59. The youngest is 19.
Several of them were later escorted to Lapu-Lapu for turnover to city Mayor Paz Radaza in the afternoon.
The boat owner Ramil Noval and the recruiter Yulo “Boy”’ Plecerda, both from Lapu-Lapu City, were charged with violating Republic Act 10364 or the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012, particularly the provision on “forced labor and slavery.”
The offense was deemed committed in large scale or against three or more persons, making it fall under qualified trafficking—a potentially non-bailable case, said Prosecutor Liceria Lofranco-Rabillas, an IACAT official.
The complaints were filed at the Lapu-Lapu City Prosecutor’s Office.
“If we are to consider the accounts of the fishermen, Noval is engaged in massive fish trade. He has several recruiters who look for fishermen who can work for him,” Rabillas said.
“We continue to build this case up. More persons may be involved in this business,”’ she said.
I’M INNOCENT
Plecerda was arrested on Wednesday evening while accompanying the 26 fishermen to Cebu.
Fishermen identified him as the one who recruited them.
The board owner, Noval, remains at large.
Plecerda, 37, a resident of Olango Island, insisted he was “innocent”.
He said he just handled the money to be paid to his fellow fishermen and that it was Noval who recruited them.
Plecerda said he too was paid P15,000 by Noval to work for four months at sea in Palawan.
During inquest proceedings, he said he would testify against the boat owner when the case gets to trial because, according to him, they were treated cruelly in Palawan.
He confirmed that if they wouldn’t go out to fish, their rice rations were withheld.
The fishermen worked in groups. A larger boat would gather all their catch to be sold in Cebu.
But they decided to escape after two months because they could no longer bear the conditions.
Last Dec. 27, they deliberately tore their fish net to have a reason to the seashore. They escaped to the mountains where they met a priest who contacted the Philippine Navy, which got in touch with Palawan officials.
Governor Davide said the fishermen were treated cruelly.
“They were actually forced to endure subhuman conditions,”he said. Davide assured that the provincial government would do its best to “bring justice to these fishermen and their families.”’
About 20 other fishermen, including three Cebuanos, are still in Palawan while one remains missing after he fell from one of the boats during a storm in December, according to Davide. He said authorities are coordinating with Palawan officials for another rescue.
Cebu Daily News is withholding the names of the victims as mandated under Republic Act 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.
Since the fishermen are targets of reprisal, Governor Davide said he would ask Provincial Police Chief Prudencio TomBañas to provide security to them and their fmailies.
He urged the fishermen not to back off the case or accept a settlement.
Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale, who along with Davide organized the group that asisted the rescued fishermen, said it’s happened before that victims of abuse would lose heart in pursuing a criminal case.
“This should not be the case now. You have to stand up for what is right. Do not worry, the Cebu provincial government will be behind you. This is a case of labor trafficking so we already convened all our stakeholders involved in the fight against human trafficking,” she said.
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