The representatives of the Chinese company that owns the steel-hulled trawler that damaged and abandoned the Filipino fishing boat Gem-Ver 1 have made a counteroffer of only P3.6 million in compensation, just about a quarter of the P12 million sought by the aggrieved party. The Filipino crew members were saddened by the counteroffer but agreed among themselves to settle for at least P6 million, the Inquirer learned on Saturday. Formal negotiations began only last June, some two years after the Chinese trawler Yuemaobinyu 42212 hit Gem-Ver 1 shortly before midnight of June 9, 2019, while the 14-ton boat was anchored at Recto Bank in the West Philippine Sea, some 270 kilometers west of Palawan province. The 22 Filipino fishermen on board were abandoned in the open sea until they were rescued about two hours later by a passing Vietnamese fishing boat. What remained of Gem-Ver 1 was later towed back to San Jose, the fishermen’s hometown in Oriental Mindoro.

Virola, M. T. (2021, July 11). Gem-Ver crew may settle for ₱6M from Chinese over sea collision. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A2.