Saving Seafood

8 Fishermen Killed in Suspected Pirate Attack in Philippines

January 11, 2017 — MANILA, Philippines — Eight Filipino fishermen were fatally shot by at least five suspected pirates who boarded their boat in the southern Philippines, officials said Tuesday.

Seven other crewmembers survived the attack Monday night in waters near Zamboanga City by jumping off the boat and swimming away when the attackers began tying up their colleagues, said Commodore Joel Garcia, head of the Philippine Coast Guard.

“According to the initial investigation, (the attackers) were on board a boat and they were all armed,” he said. “They immediately tied up eight of the crewmen, and the seven others were able to jump out and survive.”

Two of the survivors reached land and reported the massacre to a village leader, who alerted the coast guard. Two vessels were sent to the area, and coast guard personnel found the fishing boat floating with eight bodies on board.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New York Times

After the Philippines Celebrates South China Sea Ruling, Reality Sets In

July 15, 2016 — MANILA — At a Shakey’s restaurant in Manila this week, dozens of Filipinos — some with Philippine flags painted on their faces — wept with joy and cheered when a tribunal in The Hague announced that Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea were invalid. Around the country, others took to social media and bought rounds of drinks in celebration.

But in the aftermath of Tuesday’s ruling, which China has said it plans to ignore, a post-celebration hangover has set in, with the Philippine government taking a cautious approach in its response to China that has left some Filipinos grumbling that the government is raining on their parade.

The ruling delivered a sweeping victory to the Philippines. Not only was the “nine-dash line” that China used to claim most of the South China Sea invalidated, but the tribunal agreed with nearly every assertion made by the Philippines in the case.

The foreign affairs secretary of the Philippines, Perfecto Yasay Jr., appeared on live television shortly after the ruling was announced. With a somber expression, he said the tribunal’s judgment was welcome and that the government would study how best to respond. “In the meantime, we call on all those concerned to exercise restraint and sobriety,” he said.

Mr. Yasay’s measured comments were met with disappointment by the people gathered at Shakey’s.

Read the full story at the New York Times