The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ended the search and rescue for the seven fishermen who went missing following a collision off the waters of Palawan over the weekend.

Commodore Armando Balilo, PCG spokesman, said this was declared on Wednesday.

"Yesterday, because we already searched within 500 square miles, we declared the termination of the search and rescue operation," he said.

Balilo said the PCG will now shift to retrieval operations.

He added that as a result of the investigation, the legal officer of the PCG filed a case of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide against the captain and the officer of MV Happy Hiro, a cargo vessel sailing under the flag of Marshall Island.

"We filed a case against the captain and officer of the cargo ship based on the eyewitness account and the physical evidence gathered in the incident," said Balilo.

"The PCG divers saw dent and scratches which proves the collision which was noted in the statement of the survivors,"he added.

Balilo also noted that the fishing company of FB JOT-22 also received a penalty of 50,000 pesos for their failure to seek clearance for the fishing boat. Robina Asido/DMS