President Duterte said he does not mean to belittle the plight of the 22 fishermen who were abandoned at sea by a Chinese vessel when he referred to the Recto Bank incident as a “little” maritime incident. In an interview with reporters in Mandaluyong City, Duterte apologized to the fishermen if they feel that the government is not fighting for them. “I’m sorry but that’s how it is. It is a maritime incident, ‘little’ in the sense that there is no confrontation. There was no bloody violence,” he said Monday evening.

Geducos, A. C. B. (2019, June 26). Duterte apologizes to 22 fishers. Manila Bulletin, pp. 1, 9.