Here is the article that interviews Randy Stirm and his wife Cherry, and details the incident in which their fishing boat was seized in the waters off Gingoog (that is pronounced "HING-oh-oag"). I'm posting it in full here, because currently attempts to view the page here in The Philippines seem to be fruitless; only an empty page shows up. Thanks to Editor Herbie Gomez and Writer Jigger Jerusalem for allowing me to post it in full.
(In the article, the Vice Mayor of Gingoog claimed to be in Manila during the entire kerfuffle. I guess Randy forgot to put up the videos on YouTube that show His Honor standing on the dock that day. Oops.)
(UPDATE: This morning after this article came out, two guys on a motorcycle threatened Randy with a .45 pistol and threatened to kill his wife if he didn't drop the case. The local police here in Jasaan don't seem particularly inclined to do much about it. Welcome to the real business world, Philippines style. A perfect-but-sad descant to Mayor Jaraula's message of "foreign business owners welcome" that we listened to at International Night this past Sunday... and far too illustrative an experience for foreign small business owners here.)
American prepares raps vs Ruthie, Kho
By JIGGER JERUSALEM
An American and his Filipino wife yesterday threatened to file charges against Gingoog officials and law enforcers for allegedly seizing their fishing boat illegally on the waters off eastern Misamis Oriental and damaging it over a week ago.
An 8:01-minute video recording of the alleged harassment was posted on Youtube. The complainants said there are more.
Facing charges are Gingoog Mayor Ruthie Guingona, Vice Mayor Marlon Kho, Navy and police personnel and a local fisheries officer.
Randy Stirm and his wife Cherry said their lawyer was preparing charges, possibly separate, against the officials in connection with alleged acts of harassment last Aug. 14.
Stirm claimed Navy personnel fired shots at the fishing boat FB Cherry, harassed its crew and then seized it without a warrant.
When the fishing boat was retrieved, equipment, including an expensive net, were nowhere to be found. It had bullet holes and the booms and rope work were cut, said Stirm.
The over P2-million boat was also badly damaged it would take at least P600 thousand to repair it, Stirm told The Gold Star Daily.
"The boat is everything I have," said Stirm. "Now, I’m penniless."
Stirm said the heavily armed Navy men who boarded the fishing boat did so on orders of Mayor Guingona. He said Vice Mayor Kho "was the one who was calling the shots all of the time."
"I begged him (Kho) and told him that the boat was everything we had. I cried," said Cherry. "He just said he didn’t believe me because 'we have plenty of dollars.'"
The Stirms said they went to city hall and asked to meet with Mayor Guingona. They said they were given the runaround instead.
"She (Guingona) didn’t want to talk to us," Stirm said.
Stirm also questioned the legality of the Gingoog Bay Alliance, one of the groups that allegedly helped the Navy in confiscating the FB Cherry 1. He said the group is neither registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) nor the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA).
A local fisheries officer identified as Genevieve Cruz was rude and refused to properly identify herself, according to Stirm. Cruz's actions were caught on video.
Cruz and Vice Mayor Kho are allegedly closely associated with a cooperative that supposedly want to monopolize fishing in the area, said Stirm.
Stirm furnished this paper two video recordings of the alleged abuses which he also posted on Youtube. One of the recordings showed a vehicle on a wharf which allegedly belongs to Vice Mayor Kho.
For his part, Kho strongly denied involvement in the alleged Aug. 14 harassment. He claimed he was in Manila from Aug. 13 to Aug. 16.
"I had no involvement in it. The Bantay Dagat is under the office of the mayor. I was only aware of the incident because I was informed," said Kho.
Kho also denied ever meeting the Stirms.
Maricel Jimenez, a staff member of the Gingoog city fisheries office, said officials have filed a complaint against Stirm for alleged violation of five fisheries laws: use of active gear in municipal waters and bays, unauthorized fishing, employment of unlicensed fisherfolk for a commercial fishing vessel, obstruction of law enforcement officers and violation of the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998.
But Stirm has maintained that the FB Cherry operations were legal and that the accusations were all made up. He said the damaged fishing boat is registered.
"They said we had firearms in the boat. Where are the guns?" Stirm.
He said a subpoena has yet to be received by him or his lawyer.
(Click here for all blog posts related to Randy Stirm's situation.)
5 comments:
stirm violated Republic Act 8550 or the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998
Section 90 - use of active gears in municipal waters (Gingoog Bay is a municipal water as defined by law.)
Section 93 - Illegal use of superlight (an environmentally destructive device to attract fish)
He also violated Fisheries Administrative Order No. 201, series of 2000 of the Department of Agriculture which bans fishing with active gears to conserve the dwindling fish reserves of the Philippines.
He also violated Fisheries Administrative Order No. 204, series of 2000, restricting the use of superlight in fishing because it attracts all kinds of fish of all type and size, thus allowing even small fries and breeding fish to be caught.
In short, this type of fishing is not sustainable and if allowed, the fishery resources of the Philippines (which is very, very, VERY, VERY important to us FILIPINOS) will run out. Stirm, and his formerly FILIPINA wife (formerly because she berated the Filipinos saying, "You Filipinos, you are always doing this damn things!", so I assume she has shed her Filipino heritage) can always go back to whereever hell, err, hole he came from if that happens. However, we Filipinos, Stirm's wife not included, we will be left behind dealing with the mess he would have done.
All people who believe in sustainable use of resources and who want to protect the environment should denounce Stirm for the scum that he is.
All law-abiding citizens must denounce Stirm for his criminal ways, flaunting the laws of the country where he is a guest. If, as he says, doesn't like the Philippines for its "corrupt and evil ways", then he is free to leave. That is, after he has served his jail sentence.
Thanks for the contrary view. It is welcome here. I have specifically not commented on (or at least been ambiguous about) the actions that led to Randy's boat seizure. While I would debate the vituperation with which you single out Randy and his wife, I won't debate the possibility that your legal claims are accurate. I simply do not know these things.
However, the situation that arose after whatever transgression Randy's boat may have been guilty of; the extrajudicial nature of the judgement; and the severity of the punishment for any infractions that Randy may have committed are also to be considered. Despite all these things you have given me to ponder, I still find the resulting situation to be grossly unfair.
My personal opinion about fishing in The Philippines is in line with yours: It is a very nonsustainable practice without any eye towards the future. While specific practices are left to the experts regarding their impact (and you may indeed be that expert, and again, please expound more on your thoughts regarding them), I simply hold the view that smart and conservative fishing — and, yes, even reserving munincipal waters to be harvested by the people who live along them, like Gingoog seems to be doing — is the best approach.
Like I said, to sum it up, I don't disagree with the practice of good fishing and zoning/restrictions of waters... I disagree with the enforcement methods to which Randy was subjected.
I sincerely thank you for opening this debate. I hope you have more to say... although I think you should consider guiding your attacks away from a personal animosity towards Randy. It should be acknowledged that his boat, manned entirely by Filipinos, fishing in a longstanding and common (although we both agree it is environmentally unhealthy) Filipino style, perfected by Filipinos, and still practiced every night by Filipinos throughout these waters, alongside hundreds of other Filipino-owned fishing boats doing the same thing, is not an American-specific criminal attack on your country. Scapegoating the American for doing something that the entire Filipino fishing industry is guilty of cheapens your point and is, in the end, hypocritical.
Just another thought Anon,
As noted above, I agree with your take on the destructive and nonsustainable nature of Filipino fishing practices, but since you seem to be an expert... or at least highly interested, I thought I would ask:
It is this particular fishing method that supplies most Filipinos with their food... and supplies it at a certain price. It's a fairly obvious reality that changing the method of fishing to something more responsible will result in fewer fish caught, and inevitably less food and/or higher prices for that food.
So my question is: What can be done here that will ensure a steady supply of fish for Filipinos to eat, at a price that they can afford, without endangering the long-term efficacy of The Philippines fish stock? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.
Another question Anon,
This subject (1, 2) is being covered over on the Yahoo CDO Expats group: That regarding the 15-kilometer limit, "is for fishing boats weighing 3 tons or more" and "anything less than 3 tons is permitted to fish between 15 mile
limit and the shore line." Regarding Randy's boat, the second post states, "...I checked Isuzu marine diesel engine weights, plus weight of 300L diesel fuel, 500 lbs for boom and netting and just cannot get over 3 tons on his boat."
I don't know what Randy's boat weighs, but can you confirm this?
nothing to discuss further... you violated the laws, you bear and suffer the consequences of your acts... let the court decide the issue... we will see who tells the truth.
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