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Tag: Junel Insigne

Floy Quintos pays tribute to the quiet courage of Junel Insigne

The captain and cook of fishing boat Gem-Ver with Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol in a press conference.

Writer Floy Quintos wrote this poem after he watched Junel Insigne, captain of the fishing boat Gem-Ver, which was rammed by a Chinese fishing boat midnight of June 9, beside Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol in a press conference June 19.

Insigne, who had insisted the ramming by the Chinese vessel was intentional and denounced the Chinese for abandoning them in the high seas near Recto Bank at midnight, became unsure of what happened during the press conference with Piñol.

Insigne also apologized to President Duterte for thinking that the ”invitation” which he declined came from Malacañang.

Some ridiculed Insigne. Some pitied him. Some were enraged.

Quintos sensed something deep in the forlorn demeanor of Insigne which inspired him to write this searing piece: