Rody enforces no-kill rule on foreign poachers

DA NANG, Vietnam – President Duterte has ordered Philippine authorities to capture, not kill, poachers venturing in local waters, saying human life is more important than the stolen goods.

The President issued the directive after expressing his sympathies for the death of two Vietnamese fishermen in a recent West Philippine Sea incident during his meeting with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang here.

The two leaders met behind closed doors on bilateral concerns and issues on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit last Thursday.

“This is for everybody’s guidance. You have to capture. If you cannot capture the poachers, you may pursue them but you have the limit of the international waters, then the boundaries would come into effect,” Duterte said during a media interview at the Pulchra Resort here last Thursday night.

“According to the laws of the Philippines, you cannot kill a person because of stealing,” he added.

The President, a former Davao City Mayor and State prosecutor, said authorities could only use force if there is a danger of any victim getting killed during the robbery.

“But if the thief would run away and you have his back is turned against you, we do not have any right at all to kill a human being because according to our courts, Supreme Court said that human life is more valuable than the thing that’s being carried away,” he said.

Two Vietnamese fishermen were killed and five others were arrested last September during an encounter with the Philippine Navy off the coast of Pangasinan.

A Navy patrol vessel reportedly encountered six Vietnamese boats fishing reportedly trespassing off the coast of Pangasinan and conducted a pursuit operation.

One of the foreign boats reportedly slammed into the local patrol vessel. Two fishermen were later found dead when Navy personnel boarded the boat.

In the meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart, Duterte offered sympathies to the families of the fishermen affected by the deadly encounter with the Navy. Compensation for the victims’ families is also being considered, according to the President.

“I expressed my regrets and assured him that the machinery of justice is working,” he said.