Claiming that the regular patrol of the Philippine Coast Guard and Navy ships in Bajo de Masinloc has stopped, aspiring Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan committed to bring it back if elected vice president.
During the launch of his campaign for the May elections dubbed "Byahe ni Kiko" on Sunday, Feb. 6, Pangilinan said he will act on redeploying Coast Guard and Navy ships in Bajo de Masinloc in order to protect local fishermen from possible harassment from foreign vessels.
The Senator disclosed that according to local fishermen in the area, Philippine vessels that regularly patrol in and around the Scarborough Shoal are no longer there, causing their livelihood to suffer.
"Ang sinasabi ngayon ng mga mangingisda sa Masinloc, wala na silang nakikitang patrolya ng Navy, wala na silang nakikitang patrolya ng Coast Guard at talagang itinataboy sila nang husto (The fishermen in Masinloc are saying that they no longer see any patrolling vessel of the Navy and Coast Guard and they are driven away)," Pangilinan said.
"So what has to be done? We have to patrol, atin 'yan e (that's ours). We have to have this frequent patrols and protektahan natin ang ating mga mangingisda (and let's protect our fishermen)," Pangilinan added.
The aspiring vice president also committed to support local fishermen with the necessary equipment and technology they need like providing them bigger boats that will allow them to fish beyond their usual capacity of 12 nautical miles.
He lamented that despite of having rich seas, the country resorts to importation, which is riddled by corruption.
"We have the fifth largest coastline in the entire planet pero nag-i-import tayo ng isda at ang malungkot dun, ang biro nga yung mga isda na yun balikbayan yun kasi sa atin din galing yun e (but we are importing fish and what's sad about it, like what they kid about, those fish are returning fish because they actually came from our waters)," he said.
Pangilinan said the local supply productivity of agricultural goods must be prioritized, adding that importation of such products should only be a last resort for the country.
Meanwhile, there has yet to be a confirmation from both the Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard on claims that the regular maritime patrols in Bajo de Masinloc have stopped.
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