globalnation.inquirer.net/76305/pcg-video-doesnt-show-22-coast-guards-laughing ( can't post link yet)
“Laughing” and “smiling” are completely different, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Sunday as it rejected the Inquirer’s report that six coast guards were seen in a video laughing as they fired at a Taiwanese fishing boat.
The Coast Guard took the video of the encounter between the coastal patrol vessel MCS-3001 and the Taiwanese fishing boat Guan Ta Hsin 28 in waters off Balintang Island in northern Philippines on May 9.
The video was submitted to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for the investigation of the fatal shooting of Taiwanese fisherman Hung Shih-chen, 65, during the chase.
Cmdr. Armand Balilo, spokesperson for the Coast Guard, said Sunday he had seen the video and dismissed the Inquirer report as “inaccurate” and “hearsay.”
Malacañang and the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (Meco), the Philippines’ de facto embassy in Taiwan, declined to comment on the Inquirer report.
The Palace, however, gave assurance that the outcome of the government investigation will be solely based on evidence.
The report was based on an interview by reporter Nancy C. Carvajal with a source who had seen the video and whose statements were confirmed by two other sources.
“The video showed the soldiers acted unprofessionally. They were laughing while they were shooting the boat,” the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
“It is disturbing and embarrassing for Philippine law enforcers,” the source said.
Balilo said there was no footage from the video that showed coast guards laughing while firing at the boat.
But “there is one crew member who’s seen in the video smiling at himself while firing a warning shot,” he said.
“Has (the Inquirer reporter) actually seen the video?” he asked.
According to Balilo, “laughing” and “smiling” are completely different. “As we all know, they do not have the same meanings,” he said.
Balilo said he was seriously concerned about the possible implications of the report.
Another Coast Guard official, who asked not to be named, said “the professionalism of our personnel is at stake here.”
The shooting death of Hung sparked a major diplomatic row between Taiwan and the Philippines.
Taiwan has demanded a government apology for the killing of Hung, compensation for the fisherman’s family, the punishment of the coast guards involved in the shooting, and the opening of fishery talks between the two countries.
To pressure the Philippines to comply, Taipei took retaliatory measures against Manila, including a freeze on new jobs for Filipino migrant workers and suspension of tourist travel to the Philippines.
