CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — Small fisherfolk from Zambales marked the United Nation’s 18th International Day of Rural Women by joining the Amihan Federation of Peasant Women in a protest rally outside the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Quezon City on Oct. 15.
Fishers’ group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) raised at the protest strong opposition to a proposed United States ammunition factory in Subic, warning of its potential threats to coastal livelihoods, community safety, and the marine environment, especially in Subic town.
Roselyn Regalado, president of Subic-based Samahan ng Cabangaan 3 Fisherfolk Association, slammed the planned construction of a US ammunition factory in their coastal village in Subic, citing its threat to fishing activities, safety of communities, and marine environment.
“Hindi namin papayagan ang pagtatayo ng pabrika ng armas ng US sa Subic Bay. Banta ito sa kabuhayan at seguridad ng mga mangingisda’t residente ng mga komunidad na nakapaligid rito,” Regalado said. “Dati na nating napalayas ang base militar ng US sa Subic, walang batayan para muling manumbalik ang anumang pasilidad nito sa ating bansa.”
Pamalakaya said that amid the threat of China in the West Philippine Sea, a U.S. military intervention is still “unacceptable,” as this could heighten, instead of appease the tensions.
The fishers’ group urges the Filipino people to reject the U.S. military installation in Subic Bay for its so-called “forward-staged ammunition” manufacturing in the Indo-Pacific region.
The fisherfolk also protested the ongoing dredging activities in Zambales, citing its marine degradation, destruction of coastal structures, among its other “irreversible impacts.
The protest is the kickoff activity of the Peasant Protest Week until Oct. 21, anniversary of then-President Ferdinand E. Marcos’ Presidential Decree 27 “decreeing the emancipation of the tenant from the bondage of the soil” which has been decried as a “sham land reform program.” Pamalakaya/Punto News Team
