Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol has clarified on Monday that there was no meeting set between President Rodrigo Duterte and the captain of the fishing vessel Jonel Insigne.
According to reports, the captain already backed out from the said meeting citing personal reasons and ‘trauma’ following the incident in Recto Bank.
Piñol said that he was the one who asked for a meeting with Richard Blasa, the boat’s cook and witness on the incident and MIMAROPA Regional Director Elizer Salilig to come to Manila to discuss the incident.
Piñol said he will inspect the boat on Wednesday.
22 crew members came home to the country after their fishing vessel rammed to a Chinese vessel.
Malacañang said that the government is exerting efforts to address the issue but some groups are pressing Duterte to be more vocal on his stand on the issue.
China denied they ‘intentionally’ rammed the fishing vessel.
