News reports showed that the President while in Peru for the Asia-Pacifi c Economic Cooperation summit announced plans to issue an executive order to turn the disputed shoal in the South China Sea or West Philippines Sea into a marine sanctuary.
As a fish sanctuary, fishermen from both China and the Philippines will be barred in the portion described as a triangle.
“Kung pagbabawalan sa loob ng triangle, OK lang, basta payagan lamang kami na mangisda sa paligid,” said F/B Kim Eurich captain Diogenes Corceles.
Corceles and his men were the first fishermen from Bataan who went fishing this November at the Scarborough Shoal after Chinese Coastguards no longer drive Filipino fishers from the area.
The boat skipper said there were six boats from the Chinese Coast Guard in the shoal but they were not shooed away.
They returned from the shoal only last Thursday after a week of fishing and planned to return there any time this week.
Flordeliza Salota, president of the 500-strong Sisiman Fishing Operators Association, saw no problem of making Panatag Shoal a marine sanctuary.
“Malaki ang tiwala namin sa Pangulong Duterte. Siya ang nakakaalam kung ano ang makabubuti para sa mga mangingisdang Filipino,” the woman leader said.
Salota said they have a big problem with regards to Vietnamese fishermen that they are bringing to the attention of the President.
“Mahal na Pangulo, ang problema po namin ay ang mga mangingisda mula sa Vietnam na naglipana sa South China Sea lalo na sa bandang Palawan na halos 50 miles lamang mula sa Subang island,” She said.
She said that the Vietnamese are using nets and superlights that turn the area like a big bright city. “Wala na kaming mahuli sa payao dahil pati maliliit na isda nahuhuli ng kanilang net at pumupunta sa kanila dahil sa malakas na ilaw,” Salota said.
