03 Jun Indonesia Sent Back 93 more Jailed Fisherman to Philippines
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Following the repatriation of 154 fishermen last March, the Indonesian government released 93 more fishermen on May 31 from detention and sent back home after getting pardon from their prison terms, according to Petty Officer 2 Aldwin Aguila who is the acting operations officer of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) station in General Santos.
Some 45 of the repatriates were from General Santos, 43 from the province of Sarangani, 3 from Davao Oriental and 2 from Surigao del Sur. They arrived at the Makar port of General Santos around midnight on Sunday aboard the Philippine Navy’s BRP Pangasinan (PS-31) from Bitung, Indonesia. They were then immediately given food assistance and underwent standard documentation procedures.
Aguila said that most of the repatriates were crew members of fishing boats that were caught fishing within Indonesia’s territorial waters illegally while some were arrested and jailed by Indonesian naval personnel after their fishing boats drifted into its waters. Quite a few of the fishermen who have spent one to three months in detention had no passports and related documents.
The repatriation of the fishermen happened after the interventions made by the office of General Santos City Mayor Ronnel Rivera and the Philippine Consulate in Manado, North Sulawesi.
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