SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—For humanitarian reasons, there will be no port charges at all for the Vietnamese fishing boats that sought shelter in Subic Bay due to bad weather last week, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) clarified on Tuesday.
Contrary to news reports that the SBMA threatens to fine the “overstaying” Vietnamese fishermen, the Subic agency doesn’t seek to impose port charges on Subic’s unexpected visitors, said SBMA Senior Deputy Administrator Ramon O. Agregado.
He said the SBMA management has recommended to the board of directors not to impose port charges in this case “for humanitarian considerations” even when port charges are obligatory for all vessels docking, or anchoring on the bay.
The measure, he added, has been endorsed by SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma who is now in the United States for a trade mission.
Agregado said the November 7, 2019, letter by the SBMA Seaport Department to the Olongapo Coast Guard Substation, which mentioned the imposition of port charges on the stranded fishing vessels, “was simply a procedural reminder and a statement of policy, considering that the vessels entered Subic Bay without authorization.”
“But even that letter, which was unfortunately interpreted by some as a threat, mentioned that the SBMA allows sheltering during such incidents,” Agregado pointed out.
“It would be the height of insensitivity for anybody to fine these Vietnamese fishermen who only sought succor in our shores due to bad weather,” he added.
According to the SBMA Seaport’s Port Operations Division, the Vietnamese fishing vessels entered Subic Bay on November 6, 2019, without requesting for entry clearance from port authorities.
However, officers from the SBMA Law Enforcement Department’s Harbor Patrol and the Philippine Coast Guard found out upon boarding the vessels that no one among the crew could speak English. This explained why the Vietnamese were not able to communicate with port authorities during arrival.
Upon learning that the foreign fishermen were seeking shelter from the storm, Subic port officials allowed them entry and anchorage on the bay.
Local officials and residents in the Subic Bay area also provided assistance by way of food and drinking water that the foreign fishermen lacked on board.
Agregado said the Vietnamese Embassy in Manila had in fact requested concerned agencies of the Philippine government to provide necessary assistance in case any Vietnamese fishermen sought shelter in Philippine waters because of the low-pressure area at that time.
However, the embassy letter dated October 31, 2019, did not reach Subic port authorities before the fishermen actually entered Subic Bay, he added.
Of the six Vietnamese fishing vessels that sought shelter here last week, three still remained on anchor in Subic as of Tuesday.