CLARK FREEPORT – Amid reports that a still unknown aircraft carrier has been spotted near the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, a fishers’ group aired yesterday concern that the fish supply of Filipinos would eventually be adversely affected by strong Chinese presence off the western coasts of the Philippines.
This warning was issued by Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) which noted in a statement that 20 percent of the country’s fish supply are harvested from western waters.
Marking Araw ng Kagitingan, Pamalakaya “condemned the continuing Chinese intrusion of the West Philippine Sea and other parts of the Philippine waters, including the recent appearance of a Chinese dredging vessel in the waters of Lobo town in Batangas province.”
It noted that the Chinese vessels eventually left the area as a result to strong condemnation from the fisherfolk and other sectors. Pamalakaya aired concern over that was shown in the video documentary of former legislator and senatorial candidate Neri Colmenares exposing the situation of Filipino fisherfolk in Zambales province who are experiencing harassment from Chinese Coast Guard in the Scarborough Shoal.
“China has been ignoring the ruling of the international tribunal invalidating its claim over the almost entire South China Sea, including 80 percent of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and extended continental shelf,” the group lamented.
“It has been almost three years since we scored victory in the international court but the Filipino people have yet to regain possession of our resource-rich marine territory. China still controls almost the entire West Philippine Sea and its resources, while the Filipino fishers are still unable to fish in their traditional fishing waters peacefully,” Pamalakaya chair Fernando Hicap said.
Hicap lamented “the presence of two large Chinese vessels guarding the lagoon located inside the Scarborough Shoal, which the Filipino fisherfolk considered as a ‘safe haven’ during turbulent weather and a rich source of catch as breeding grounds of fish.”
“By imposing limitation to our fishers to exploit their traditional fishing waters, China is not only guilty of violating their socio-economic rights, it is also threatening our local food security as West Philippine Sea contributes 20 percent to the local fisheries production,” Hicap stressed.
He lamented the failure of the Duterte government to “take concrete action to protect our fishermen and territory against foreign intrusion, even as it downplays valid and on-the-ground reports from the fishermen who have been enduring the Chinese aggression on a regular fishing basis.”
