RESPITE. Some of the 26 fishermen rescued by the Palawan police eat lunch in a budget hotel after they were turned over to provincial officials.
(CDN Photo/Junjie mendoza)
The Cebu-based fish trader accused of exploiting 78 fishermen from Cebu and Bohol said he has enough documents to prove not only his innocence but to show that they actually owed him money.
In a statement released by his lawyer Amelie Ocañada-Alegre to reporters yesterday, Ramir Noval said the fishermen—26 from Cebu and 52 from Bohol—earlier sought his permission to go home and voluntarily end their contracts with him.
“This simply is a case of a bunch of homesick crooked fishermen trying to escape their monetary liability,” said Noval, a resident of barangay Marigondon, Lapu-Lapu City. Noval hired the fishermen last November.
“There is no physical harm done to them. They voluntarily terminated their contractual obligation to me with a promise to pay me what is due me. And I have public documents to prove this,” he added.
Not hiding
Noval also dismissed reports that one of the fishermen went missing after he fell off his boat during bad weather last December.
“While they (fishermen) say that one of them is missing, it would seem clear that the missing one just left ahead and is now being located in Palawan as we speak,” he said.
Noval said he suspended his fishing business after the fishermen left him.
His lawyer, Alegre, said Noval is not hiding despite the charges filed against him.
“Noval is a legitimate businessman with a legitimate business activity. He is not ‘at large’ and is willing to face the accusations against him. As of today, he is where he normally is: in Balabac town in Palawan,” the lawyer said.
Refund
Alegre said Noval is not engaged in human trafficking and forced labor.
Noval earlier gave P391,000 to Yulo “Boy” Plecerda in order to recruit fishermen that can work in Palawan for five months.
Plecerda, also a fisherman from Olango Island, recruited 26 fishermen from Cebu and gave them P15,000 each.
But when they arrived in Palawan, they were later told by their employer that they need to pay P60,000 as refund for all the expenses they incurred at sea. Using tubes from a compressor to breathe, the fishermen went as deep as 40 meters under the sea for two to three hours to catch fish.
Last December, the fishermen managed to escape and were rescued by authorities in Balabac town located in the south-westernmost part of Palawan.
Recruiter
They were eventually turned over to the custody of provincial officials of Cebu and Bohol.
Charges were filed last Thursday against Noval and Plecerda for allegedly violating Republic Act 10364 or the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012, particularly on the provision against “forced labor and slavery.”
Plecerda was arrested last Wednesday evening while accompanying 26 fishermen to Cebu.
Related Stories: