“Grabe na ang mga violations dito,” Binay said during a dialogue attended by 38 fishermen, labor and local and national government officials at the Maria Luisa Hotel in Dumaguete City. The 38 were among 250 workers of Pesca Maharlika Marine Resources Inc. recruited by their maestro or group leader, Andrew Labao.
Under Republic Act 9208, qualified trafficking carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of P2 million per count.
Binay, who is the chairman emeritus of the Interagency Council Against Trafficking (Iacat), said the national government is determined to pursue the charges.
He also urged the local government and local police to work closely with Iacat and the Presidential Task Force on Anti-illegal Recruitment (PTFAIR). Binay is also head of the PTFAIR.
“We will now delve into being proactive to prevent these activities. It is hard to believe that this is a unique case. I assume this is rampant,” Binay said.
He assured the fishermen that the Iacat will be fully behind them. “Walang iwanan ito. Tutulungan namin kayo, basta’t huwag kayong bibitaw,” he told them.
The fishermen complained that the company made illegal deductions from their 20-percent share of the earnings from their fishing expeditions. As a result of these deductions, the fishermen did not receive any payment for their 10-month fishing trip.
Based on their contract with the fishermen, the company retains 80 percent of the gross sales, while 20 percent are to be paid to the fishermen.
But the fishermen said Pesca Maharlika Marine Resources allegedly deducted from the fishermen’s share the cost of recruitment, fish carrier fare, plane fares, meals and hotel accommodations of the company and officials of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. They also deducted the house rental and household expenses of the checkers and the family and relatives of their recruiter in Manila.
While the fishermen did not receive any share in the profits, the company got their haul of more than 25,000 tubs of fish and generated gross sales of P47 million.
The 38 fishermen had earlier filed a complaint at the Field Office of the Department of Labor and Employment Negros Oriental in Dumaguete City against the company. The complainants all came from the municipality of Ayungon, Negros Oriental, where most of the fishermen were recruited.
According to labor officials, the fishermen, led by Maestro Labao, went on a 10-month fishing expedition with five trips. Each trip is equivalent to 45 days fishing at high seas within the fishing grounds near international waters. For each 45 days of fishing, a fish boat carrier also owned by Pesca Maharlika retrieved the group’s fish haul and brought it to Navotas.
In April the group returned to Negros Oriental at the end of their 10 months fishing expedition with five dead among the group, one from a stabbing incident and the four from decompression during fishing operation.
The bodies of the five dead were transported back to Negros Oriental via airplane incurring an expense of P70,000 to P90,000 each. The company paid the relatives P10,000 each.
(Butch Fernandez)
