The Department of National Defense (DND) said Lorenzana relayed Duterte’s assurance to the families of the two Vietnamese who died 30 nautical miles west off Bolinao, Pangasinan. Days after the incident, Vice Adm. Ronald Joseph Mercado, the Philippine Navy chief, ordered the removal of the commanding officer of the Patrol Ship 19 (PS-19) Miguel Malvar, the Navy ship involved in the incident. “You know how diplomatic meetings go, he was thankful, [other details]were not elaborated since the issue was somehow sensitive,” Andolong said. Andolong denied that the compensation offered by Duterte was an admission of guilt on the part of the Philippine government. During the meeting, Lich suggested the establishment of a concrete mechanism between the Vietnamese and Philippine navies to prevent a similar incident from happening again to which Lorenzana agreed.

Source: Manila Times October 26, 2017 12:33 UTC