#FactCheck: No, this is not the capsized F/B GemVer 1

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Certain individuals, including a GMA-7 resident political analyst have spread this photo as the F/B GemVer 1 which sank in WestPH sea after it got hit by a Chinese vessel.

The above photo (courtesy of Philippines Navy) is actually a picture of another fishing boat “Athan Uno” which sank around El Nido waters in Palawan after it got hit by strong winds and big waves on August 2, 2018.

News of this incident can be found here along with the photo: 37 fishermen rescued from sinking vessel off El Nido, Palawan (SunStar Daily).

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A Filipino fishing boat (F/B GemVer 1) with 22 crews onboard sunk after it was hit by a bigger Chinese vessel in the disputed West Philippines Sea.

Whether it was an accident or a deliberate act, this incident warrants a thorough investigation. The Philippines government have already sent a strong protest, and China has assured they will punish the Chinese vessel crew if found guilty.

Demand for compensation is in order and we need China’s assurance that this won’t happen again.

However China has released an initial statement and have accused that the Filipinos were the aggressor and in the process of fleeing it bumped into the smaller Filipino fishing boat.

Being a very sensitive issue, the government is just right in handling this in a very calculated manner so as to preserve good ties with China.

Definitely there’s no need to severe ties or declare war as what the noisy minority wants the government should do.

We have our share of unfortunate incidents involving foreign nationals in the past, like the Luneta hostage crisis which claimed several Chinese lives but China or Hong Kong did not severe ties with us nor declared war.

A prudent approach to incidents like this is the best solution, and we are just glad that we have people in government who know how to manage this kind of situation.

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