The Department of Justice on Sunday said there is no agreement yet on the compensation for the 2019 sinking of Filipino fishing vessel F/B Gem-Ver 1.
Justice Undersecretary Adrian Ferdinand Sugay made the clarification following reports that the owner and crew members of the ill-fated vessel have agreed to a settlement of P6 million out of the P12 million that they originally claimed.
The same reports also claimed that the Chinese company which owned the trawler which hit the fishing vessel made a a counter offer of P3.6 million.
“The discussions are still on-going. Until these are completed, it might not be advisable to make any statements on the amounts involved,” Sugay said in a text message to reporters.
Sugay declined to make further statements since the negotiation is still ongoing.
Talks on the compensation started last June 7 and was hosted by the Philippine Embassy in Beijing.
The discussion was held after two years since the June 9, 2019 sinking of Gem-Ver 1 which was allegedly rammed by a Chinese fishing vessel in Reed Bank, also known as the Recto Bank, in the West Philippine Sea.
The Chinese fishing vessel fled, leaving the crew of Gem-Ver 1 stranded until they got rescued and returned to Philippine shores.