MANILA, Philippines – Filipino fisherfolk bearing the brunt of escalating Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea had the opportunity to narrate their struggles during a House human rights committee meeting on Tuesday, July 30.
The common theme of their anecdotes, on top of assessments by other invited experts on maritime issues, is that Beijing’s activities in the country’s territorial waters have made it difficult for fishermen to make a living.
“Our fishermen have not only lost income intermittently but are now essentially continuously finding it harder and harder to even make their own livelihoods. They cannot even break even on their efforts to fish,” said Jay Batongbacal, director of the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea.
China has tremendously limited Filipinos’ access to Scarborough Shoal (also called Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc), a feature that is rich in aquatic resources off the waters of Zambales province.
The Chinese Coast Guard has deployed patrols in the area since 2012, and its tactics to block fishermen drew national headlines in September last year, when Philippine Coast Guard personnel had to remove a floating barrier installed by the CCG to stop Filipinos from entering the lagoon of Scarborough Shoal.
Infanta, Pangasinan Mayor Marvin Martinez said that based on his dialogue with his constituents, the last time fishermen were able to access the lagoon was in May, the start of China’s unilateral four-month fishing ban in the South China Sea.
“They say if they try to sail there, rubber boats (from China) would come near them 15 to 20 miles (from the lagoon) to stop them,” the local chief executive said.
The lagoon of Scarborough Shoal was their traditional fishing ground, and it is known as a haven for fisherfolk during stormy weather.
“Scarborough Shoal is where they go when they can’t catch enough fish in the deep sea,” Mayor Martinez said. “That is where they can catch fish the safest during the typhoon season from July to October.”
Henrelito Empoc, representative of Bigkis Mangingisda, said that before China’s presence in Scarborough Shoal, they only needed to spend P70,000 to P80,000 for fuel, ice, and other fishing resources for every trip. These days, the costs have more than doubled to up to P200,000 per operation.
“What was the cause of the increase?” human rights committee chairman Bienvenido Abante asked.
“We fish far from Scarborough Shoal these days, unlike before when we could enter the lagoon and had plenty of harvest,” Empoc replied.
Empoc added that one operation in the past took them only three to four days; now, it takes them 10 to 15 days at sea.
“That is why our budget for consumption ballooned, because we had to increase the volume of diesel, the amount of ice, and the food (for our fishermen) due to the length of time at sea,” Empoc said.
Filipinos had set up fish aggregating devices – floating objects with nets – in areas farther from the lagoon to avoid Chinese patrols, but even these efforts are becoming futile.
Batongbacal noted that in recent years, China has stepped up its efforts to prevent Filipinos from fishing “as far as 25 nautical miles away from the shoal” by dismantling fish aggregating devices.
“They’re deliberately destroying the resources there so that Filipinos, particularly our fishermen, will have no reason to go there anymore,” Batongbacal said. “Perhaps in the future, [they will] convert it into an artificial island which is what they did in the Spratlys and essentially take control of the waters.”
The Department of Agriculture acknowledged that some fishermen have turned to other means of livelihood to stay afloat.
“Some have been forced to seek alternative sources of income such as construction work to avoid the tension in the sea,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said in a message that was read by Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Director for Central Luzon Wilfredo Cruz.
For a nongovernmental organization, Beijing’s presence in the West Philippine Sea has just made it more complicated for Filipino fishermen to get out of the financial hole they are in.
“The families of our fisherfolk are being pushed deeper into poverty due to China’s encroachments, resulting in the reduction of their fish catch that leads to the diminishing income,” the Peoples Development Institute said.
The group is demanding economic support services from the government for fishermen and their families, and the full implementation of the 2016 arbitral ruling that rejected China’s expansive claims in the West Philippine Sea. The latter is easier said than done, as Beijing refuses to recognize the Philippines’ landmark victory in The Hague. – Rappler.com
