Marcos urged to facilitate Filipino fishermen’s return to Panatag
A PHILIPPINE citizens movement urged the Marcos administration on Tuesday to facilitate the return of Filipino fisherfolk to Scarborough Shoal, locally known a Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc, and other fishing grounds in the South China Sea that are within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
“We call on the government to mobilize its resources to allow our fisherfolk to return to Panatag and other fishing grounds in the West Philippine Sea,” 1PINAS said in a statement after holding a protest with Filipino fisherfolk in front of the Chinese embassy in Manila.
“It’s the fundamental obligation of our government to ensure that sovereign rights become a concrete reality for our fisherfolk, not merely an abstract concept.”
Last Jan. 14, a Chinese Coast Guard ship deployed a rubber boat to chase a small boat of Filipinos collecting shells in the vicinity of Panatag Shoal, which is well within Manila’s 200-nautical mile EEZ.
One of the five Chinese personnel forced them to return the shells to the sea before being allowed to leave, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
The fishermen were “subsequently driven away,” PCG spokesman for the West Philippine Sea Jay Tristan Tarriela had said.
A 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea recognized the traditional fishing rights of small-scale Filipino and Chinese fishermen in the shoal.
“We call on China to withdraw its ships, including its navy, coast guard, and maritime militia, from Panatag shoal and the whole of our EEZ,” P1NAS spokesperson Antonio Tinio said.
“We demand that they dismantle the military installations that they have built on artificial reefs in our waters. This is the key to lowering tensions in the region,” he added — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza