Fishers’ groups in tḥe Philippines called on President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to advance the interest of Filipinos, particularly the fishermen, during his state visit to China in January 2023.
Pangisda Pilipinas National Chairman Pablo Rosales said Marcos should ask China to respect the decision of the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) which ruled in favor of the Philippines in its arbitration case against China over the West Philippine Sea.
“Marcos should ask China to respect the decision of the international court and award the right to Filipinos at the West Philippine Sea. We hope Marcos will be firm on this position and show China that he is ready to defend what is ours,” Rosales said.
“That’s what we are asking the President to advance the welfare of our Filipino fishermen and China to respect our rights. We hope that President Marcos will relay this message during his visit,” he added.
He said that fishermen no longer go to Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc after being harassed by the Chinese Coast Guard.
“They chose not to go there because of fear from the Chinese ships,” Rosales added.
He said that members of the Chinese Coast Guard confiscated the fishing gear and catch of some Filipino fishermen.
“Fishermen were traumatized because of the harassment. They chose not to go near Bajo de Masinloc and decided to fish within the municipal waters near Masinloc,” Rosales said.
He appealed to the Philippine Coast Guard to provide protection to the fishermen and escort them while fishing near Bajo de Masinloc.
Rosales said that Marcos’ visit to China will be beneficial if he will include the issue of Filipino fishermen in his agenda in his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Fishermen, he added, should be allowed to fish freely and benefit from the country’s marine resources.
At the same time, Rosales said that he supports the proposed measure of Palawan Rep. Edward Hagedorn to declare certain parts of Kalayaan Island Group and Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea as marine protected areas.
“I support declaring the West Philippine Sea as a protected area if it will only prohibit commercial fishers and foreign intrusion but not the small fishermen. If it bans all forms of fishing, it will affect the source of living of small fishermen,” he said.
Fisherfolk Provincial Council Leader in Zambales Paul Amerika said that Filipino fishermen used to take refuge at Bajo de Masinloc but were forced to stop the practice because of harassment from Chinese vessels.
“Fishermen had a place where they used to hide whenever there was a typhoon, but the Chinese occupied that place,” Amerika said.
He added that Marcos should defend the right of Filipino fishermen to fish in the country’s territorial waters.
“We hope that the President’s visit will help so that the privilege of small fishermen to fish freely can be enjoyed again,” Amerika noted.
Ocean senior campaign manager Danny Ocampo said that it is important to manage the country’s resources to prevent the depletion of the fisheries supplies.
“Oceana has been actively pushing for the implementation of our fisheries laws to manage our fisheries resources,” Ocampo said.
He urged the government to ensure the implementation of Fisheries Administrative Order 263 on the establishment of Fisheries Management Areas (FMAs) which aims to effectively manage the fisheries resources in Philippine waters.
Oceana Karagatan Patrol Administrator Jessie Floren said that the closed fishing season in Northern Palawan, Visayan Sea and Zamboanga Peninsula should strictly be observed to help the country’s marine resources recover.
“Hopefully, commercial fishing vessels will respect that. They will benefit from this intervention. Closed-fishing season aims to regenerate fish stocks and then eventually sustain our production of sardines,” Floren said.
The fishing ban starts in December and will last until February.