(UPDATE) FISHERFOLK in coastal communities near the West Philippine Sea (WPS) are abandoning fishing as dwindling catch and harassment from Chinese maritime militia make it very difficult for them to sustain their livelihood.
In Subic, many fishermen were forced to sell their boats and take construction jobs, as they sank deep into debt.
“Boats left to rot on the shore, fathers taking odd jobs in construction, families abandoning a tradition that has sustained them for generations,” said Jose Antonio Goitia, civic leader and chairman emeritus of four organizations: Alyansa ng Bantay sa Kapayapaan at Demokrasya, People’s Alliance for Democracy and Reforms, Liga Independencia Pilipinas, and Filipinos Do Not Yield Movement.
“These are not isolated cases. They are the human cost of China’s aggression and environmental destruction,” said Goitia, after visiting the area over the weekend.
Goitia said that according to fishermen he interviewed, the money they earn from their daily catch is no longer enough to cover the cost of fuel, nets and food. The situation, they said, has worsened in recent months after China declared Bajo de Masinloc a “nature reserve.”
National Security Adviser Eduardo Año described China’s move as “contradictory and misleading.”
“The irony is clear. To call themselves stewards of an ecosystem they have damaged is hypocrisy,” Año said, noting Chinese fishing fleets have harvested endangered species and destroyed reefs in the very area they now claim to protect.
Goitia said that China’s declaration was a smokescreen for militarization. “By invoking the language of conservation, Beijing is masking its true intent — to justify deploying coast guard ships, even warships, in waters that are rightfully within our Exclusive Economic Zone.”
“The sea cannot be protected by those who have destroyed it. Only the Filipino fishermen, who have loved, respected, and lived by it, can truly be its stewards,” he added.
Tensions further escalated after the Sept. 16 incident wherein Chinese ships fired water cannons at a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessel delivering food and fuel to fishermen near Bajo de Masinloc.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Coast Guard denounced the aggression.
Goitia said Chinese intrusion in the WPS is destroying both marine resources and Filipino lives. “Even humanitarian missions for our fishermen are not spared from harassment. Every collision, every water cannon, is another nail in the coffin of China’s false narrative.”
He urged the government and the private sector to aid the fishermen affected by the conflict in the WPS.
“Every abandoned boat is a story of betrayal. This is not just a fishermen’s fight. It is a national fight,” Goitia said.
