The nine fishermen came from Saudi Arabia and crossed the boundary of the North African state.
In a statement, Pamalakaya sought humanitarian consideration from the Eritrean government, stressing that the Filipino fishers were also “victims of anti-fi sherfolk policies in their own country.”
“It is so ironic that we are an archipelagic country rich in marine resources, yet Filipino fishers are forced to go to faraway places almost beyond the reach of their own government for protection,” said Pamalakaya vice chair Salvador France.
France said that much of the blame on the said plight of Filipino fishers should be put on the Fisheries Code of 1998. “It is the main culprit why fishers remain poorest among the poor for 18 consecutive years in the Philippines,” he noted.
The code bars small fishers from harvesting in municipal waters, driving them farther into the sea dominated by commercial fishing.
“We humbly appeal to the good government of Eritrea to release our nine Filipinos fishers for the sake of their families who depend on them for their basic needs,” he said.
