A local court in the Philippines Tuesday ordered the release from jail of 10 workers of RD Tuna Ventures Inc. (RDTVI) who earlier led a mutiny of the company’s fishing crew off the high seas of Papua New Guinea .
Judge Jose Bersales of the Municipal Trial Court in Cities Branch II ordered the dismissal of the case and the release of the workers at around 9:15 a.m. Wednesday based on a motion for withdrawal of the charges filed by lawyers of RDTVI owner and general manager Rodrigo Rivera Sr. last Monday.
The 10 workers, detained at the city jail here since Sept. 29, were reunited with their families at about 1:30 p.m. They were among the 12 crew members and four labor leaders who were earlier charged for the10-day mutiny in late August that involved at least 196 crew members of the company’s eight fishing vessels based in Madang, PNG.
“In the spirit of love and mutual understanding, RDTVI decided to withdraw the charges against all the accused to pave the way for their immediate release,†Rivera said in a press conference at a local hotel in General Santos yesterday afternoon.
Rivera said they decided to withdraw the charges after “arriving at a peaceful and happy resolution of the case†during negotiations over the weekend between the company and the workers through officials of the International Transport Federation (ITF)-affiliated Philippine Seafarers Union-Association of Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (PSU-ALU-TUCP).
The negotiations were personally brokered by Philippine Ambassador to PNG Bienvenido Tejano.
Rivera said they agreed during the dialogues that “industrial peace, the health of the company in the long term, the liberty of the accused and the effect on their families have to be considered seriously. As Christians, we have to show compassion and forgiveness to those who wronged us. In response to these considerations, the company is prepared to forgive and forget the damages it has suffered as a result of the incident,†he said.
Rivera expressed willingness to allow the workers, who were dismissed from the company as a result of their arrest, to return to work provided they undergo some processes, such as a retraining and participate in a counseling program.
In a joint statement, RDTVI and PSU-ALU-TUCP-ITF said they have reached a conclusion that pursuing the charges against the 16 persons and the continued detention of the 10 workers of RDTVI will only result to escalation of actions from both sides “that will only lead to a bigger dispute and greater damage to our communities, the industry and our country.â€
“After consultations and deep introspection, (we) agreed to take the moral high ground in addressing the issues surrounding the dispute between the company and some of its workers. Both parties agreed to adopt an understanding that is guided by compassion and mutual respect,†the two parties cited in the statement read by TUCP spokesman Alex Aguilar.
With RDTVI’s decision to withdraw the charges, PSU-ALU-TUCP-ITF said it now recognizes the application of Philippine laws over the Philippine-registered fishing vessels operating outside the country’s territorial waters.
Source: Philippine Press