Filipino fishermen apparently have taken to heart the threat of the Palau government to cut off diplomatic ties with the Philippines if the intrusion into its rich fishing ground would continue.
In the last three years, no arrest was made of wayward Filipino fishermen in Palau, opening the possibility that Palau may soften to a previous proposal to have a bilateral agreement with the Philippines on the exploitation of its tuna-rich fishing ground. Such an agreement could be reached this year.
Miguel Iñigo, a Filipino honorary consul of the Republic of Palau, said that the last incident of an arrest of Filipino fishermen by Palau maritime authorities on the high seas was in 1999. “Since then, there were no more incidents.†He said that he has also helped the repatriation of 105 Filipino fishermen who have languished in Palau jail for encroaching on Palau waters. He helped charter a Philippine Airlines flight for the jailed fishermen.
Iñigo said that the warning aired by then-Palau President Kuniwo Nakamura that he would severe diplomatic relations with the Philippine government if it cannot control its fishermen from intruding into their waters may have helped.
He said he has personally relayed this warning to the fishermen in General Santos City, the most notorious for encroaching, not only on Palau waters, but in the fishing grounds of Indonesia and Malaysia as well.
He commented that the groups of fishermen, along with the owners and operators of fish canneries and others involved in the tuna and fishing industry in General Santos City, have formed their own federation in 1999. He said he was also invited into the conference to talk.
Iñigo indicated that this may augur well for the revival of the suggestion among businessmen and government authorities in Mindanao that Palau and the Philippines enter an agreement on the exploitation of the sea lane connecting Mindanao with Palau, located in the Micronesia group in the Pacific, that included the Yap Islands, Guam and the Caroline Islands.
Davao City lies nearest to Palau, at only 500 nautical miles southwest of this city.
The bilateral fishing agreement was first broached to Palau President Nakamura in 1996 by a task force composed of the United States Agency for International Development-funded Growth with Equity in Mindanao, and private and government representatives. Secretary Paul Dominguez, presidential adviser on regional concerns, was then the presidential assistant for Mindanao and was part of the discussion group.
Those who composed the task force met again in 1997 and 1998, and agreed to continue with the proposal. It was not, however, taken up seriously with President Nakamura since then after the series of intrusions of Filipino fishermen.
With the non-intrusion of Filipino fishermen, Iñigo said that the bilateral agreement may be revived and would have a higher chance of being signed. “Actually, we could foresee the signing of a pact this year,†he said.