Manila, Philippines – Members of the militant fishers’ group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) on Wednesday gathered in their respective coastal communities to endorse the Anakpawis as their party-list, as well as the senatorial bids of human rights lawyer Neri Colmenares and labor leader Bong Labog on the 2022 national elections.
Coinciding with the filing of the candidacy of Anakpawis for the party-list race, the PAMALAKAYA local members from Laguna de Bay and Manila Bay held signages in support of the progressive candidates and calling the Filipino voters to elect them in next year’s polls.
“This coastal-based action symbolizes our full pledge to elect the real representatives of the people in the elite-dominated Senate and Congress. To ensure the people’s fighting chance inside the legislative chamber, it is the Filipinos’ electoral duty to ensure the victory of Anakpawis and the two renowned activist leaders,” Ronnel Arambulo, PAMALAKAYA Spokesperson announced as he led the coastal-based even in the country’s largest freshwater lake.
The fishers’ group said that their favored party-list has an undisputed running track record in the service of the marginalized sectors.
“Anakpawis has brought the issues and concerns of the fisherfolk in the Congress through house resolutions and bills,” Arambulo added.
PAMALAKAYA has recorded at least three bills and three resolutions filed by Anakpawis party-list while it was occupying a seat in the congress, including:
- House Bill declaring Manila Bay as reclamation-free zone, as a measure for its genuine rehabilitation;
- a bill mandating the special protection of coastal fishing communities for sustainable small-scale fisheries in the country;
- an act mandating the provision of P15, 000 financial support to at least one million Filipinos employed in the fisheries and aquaculture sector to pump-prime the wheels of production, and as a crucial response mechanism to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to the sector recognized as “vulnerable and marginalized”;
- a resolution urging the national government to regain control and authority over the Panatag Shoal (Scarborough) and Kalayaan Group of Islands amid the increasing presence of China in the West Philippine Sea;
- a resolution urging the congress to conduct an investigation, in aid of legislation, on the holistic impact of the 2,500-hectare Bulacan Aerotropolis project in brgy. Taliptip, Bulakan, Bulacan, especially to the poor fisherfolk and coastal residents;
- a resolution directing seeking inquiry on the suitability and sustainability of the Manila Bay beautification program or the dolomite dumping by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the baywalk.
“We pledge our 100% voting support for our real representatives in the legislative chamber,” ended Arambulo. ###
