The collision between a Philippine fishing boat and a Hong Kong-flagged cargo vessel off the coast of Occidental Mindoro last June 28 is “an issue of enforcement of Philippine laws,” Malacañang said on Wednesday. “Although it involves a collision where one of them is a foreign-flagged [cargo] ship, since it occurred in Philippine waters, it will be the Philippine courts that will determine both criminal and civil liability,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, who is also a lawyer, said in an interview. Roque insisted the incident will be resolved under the country’s admiralty laws because it happened in Philippine territorial waters.

PH laws to prevail in ship collision case. (2020, June 2). Manila Standard, p. A3.