5 Chinese nabbed in Bataan now operate dredger in Zambales
SAN ANTONIO, ZAMBALES -Five of the 13 undocumented Chinese nationals who were arrested in Bataan are now operating a dredging vessel in Zambales.
The five have shown legal documents that allowed them to board the vessel, Harvest 89, owned by Trust Shipping Lines, which is currently conducting dredging activities in the Sto. Tomas River in San Felipe town for Shuaful Resources Inc., according to Zambales Provincial Engineer Domingo Mariano.
Mariano said the vessel possesses the necessary permits from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Marine Industry Authority.
“When they arrived here, their documents (were) inspected. if they didn’t have complete and clean documents, they couldn’t enter, but they all have them,” Mariano told the Inquirer.
Last month, PCG authorities in Limay, Bataan, apprehended the 13 undocumented Chinese nationals aboard Harvest 89, where they also discovered a military-style uniform resembling those worn by members of the People’s Liberation Army of China.
Commander Euphraim Jayson Diciano, chief of the PCG station in Zambales, confirmed the five Chinese crew members on board Harvest 89 hold Alien Employment Permits and Prearranged Employment Visas, making their presence legal.
He, however, has no information on the other Chinese nationals as their case was handled by PCG Bataan, which, when contacted by the Inquirer, said the case of the arrested Chinese was handled by the PCG in National Capital Region-Central Luzon.
‘Compliant’
“The only guideline for us in that case is that they (Chinese crew) should have all the necessary permits and should have complied with the safety protocols, and since they have complied, there is no reason for us to hold their application,” said Diciano.
The provincial government suspended earlier this year all dredging activities following a series of protests and the growing number of complaints from residents in San Felipe town who were wary about the presence of 17 Chinese dredging ships that operated in their municipal waters.
On June 14, the suspension of dredging operations in the province was lifted, but the operations that would aid the flow of the Maloma River remained suspended.
The Zambales provincial government initially denied that Harvest 89 would conduct dredging operations in the province.
