Nearly half of Filipinos asked the Philippine government to request China to impose sanctions on crew members of Chinese vessel which rammed fishing vessel Gem-Ver during the Recto Bank incident last June 9.

In a survey Friday by Pulse Asia Research Inc., 36 percent of Filipinos want the government to ask China to sanction the crew of the boat which hit a Filipino fishing vessel in Recto Bank and left fishermen in the water until a Vietnamese vessel rescued them.

This, according to Pulse Asia, is in addition to filing a formal complaint before the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Pulse Asia said this drew 46 percent of respondents in Metro Manila, 45 percent in the rest of Luzon, and to Classes D and E with 34 percent and 36 percent.

Meanwhile, about 26 percent proposed that China, not just the vessel crew, should pay for damages incurred by Gem-Ver and injuries sustained by the Filipino fishermen.

About 19 percent said members of Chinese vessel should be presented before a Philippine court; and 10 percent said both countries should talk and agree on a set of rules that would apply to similar maritime incidents in the West Philippine Sea.

The survey was conducted from June 24 to 30 using face-to-fave interviews of 1,200 representative adults 18 years old and above. It has a ± 2.8 percent error margin at the 95 percent confidence level. Cristina Eloisa Baclig/DMS