“Rehabilitate marine resources, not a lecture on territorial boundaries” – PAMALAKAYA tells Go

Rehabilitate marine resources, not a lecture on territorial boundaries” –

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Special Assistant to the President Bong Go | Photo by ABS-CBN News

PAMALAKAYA tells Go

Manila, Philippines ­­– The fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA-Pilipinas) tells the Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go to explore the ocean deep and study the plight of the fisherfolk and the deteriorating condition of municipal waters that force them to go beyond the territorial waters.

Speaking before 31 fisherfolk repatriated from Indonesia after being detained for illegal entry and fishing in their territory, Go said Filipino fishers should be taught with territorial boundaries to avoid arrest.

For its part, PAMALAKAYA said the depleting fish catch in the municipal fishing waters due to intrusion of commercial fishing fleets that exploit marine stocks leaves the Filipino fishers no choice but to venture outside the territorial waters with the risk of getting caught for illegal entry or worst, get into unexpected accidents caused by rough and unfamiliar seas.

Allow us to explain to Go how the fishing works. The irony is that despite being an archipelagic country, Filipino fishers have to undertake the risks of going to foreign waters because municipal waters are running out of fish stocks courtesy of large-scale commercial fishing fleets that exploit its marine resources. Another main factor of marine degradation is the government’s destructive reclamation projects that kill mangroves, corals, and other fish spawning areas,” Fernando Hicap, PAMALAKAYA Chairperson said in a statement.

Hicap, who is also a former Anakpawis Partylist solon added that Go must tell President Rodrigo Duterte to address and resolve the longstanding problem in the fishing sector particularly the marine environment degradation and fish capture depletion by ending all destructive projects such as land reclamation and unbridled conversion of fishing waters into eco tourism hubs and commercial and business districts (CBDs).

The fisherfolk does not need any lecture about maritime boundary, but a government support through a genuine rehabilitation of marine resources that will benefit small-scale fishers and the Filipino people,” ended Hicap. ###

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