PANGILINAN: WPS ISSUE IS NO JOKING MATTER

SEN. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Friday said the West Philippine Sea (WPS) issue was no laughing matter because it was the source of livelihood of Filipino fishermen.

“This is a serious matter. The livelihood of our Filipino fishermen is at stake here — whether their families will go hungry or not — it must be the first priority of the government,” said Pangilinan, a former food security official.

Fisherman Carlo Montehermozo said he was hurt when President Rodrigo Duterte said early this week that his claim of riding a jet ski in the Spratlys to plant a Philippine flag there was just a “campaign joke” and that those who believed it were “stupid.”

Montehermozo was the fisherman, who, in the final presidential debate in 2016, asked Duterte what he would do about the Chinese intrusion in the WPS should he win.

“How are we able to secure the livelihood of our fishermen if we don’t secure the WPS? How are we able to secure our food if we are cut from our very own resource-rich waters? This is very basic — loss of jobs. People will go hungry if we continue to neglect our claims in the WPS,” the senator added.

Fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas said local fishermen have lost the Scarborough shoal, a lagoon used to be a traditional Filipino fishing ground, to the Chinese.

The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) reported that 287 Chinese vessels were still moored in the WPS.

“We should fight for our WPS rights. Until now, more than 200 Chinese vessels are still in our territorial waters bullying our fishermen. This means that the Chinese benefit more from our seas than our own fishermen,” Pangilinan said.

Pangilinan warned of a fish shortage if the Chinese were allowed to fish in Philippine waters with impunity.

The NTF-WPS reported last month that at least 240,000 kilos of fish were poached everyday by Chinese fishing vessels from the area.

Economists estimated that China profits $6 billion a year from illegally fishing in Philippine waters.