A government led by the tandem of Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan will not turn a blind eye nor a deaf ear on the continuous harassment of Filipino fishermen in the contested West Philippine Sea, Pangilinan said.
During a radio interview in Occidental Mindoro Wednesday, April 6, the vice presidential candidate maintained his position over will continue to assert the Philippines' right over the West Philippine Sea by virtue of the 2016 arbitral ruling.
Pangilinan said they will not engage in battle with China but they will not also allow Filipino fishermen to be at the disadvantage.
“Dapat manindigan tayo... hindi tayo magiging sunud-sunuran sa China. Hindi tayo makikipag-away sa kanila pero ipaglalaban natin ang ating mga mangingisda (We should stand by our rights...we should not blindly follow China. We will not engage in clash but we will fight for our fishermen),” Pangilinan said, citing the ramming incident of the Gem-Ver 1 in this province last 2019.
Gem-Ver 1, a 14-ton fishing boat carrying 22 Filipino fishermen from San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, sank after it was rammed by a Chinese vessel while it was anchored at Recto Reef on June 9, 2019.
It was only two years later that the formal negotiation between the Philippines and China to compensate the Filipino fishermen began.
Pangilinan slammed the current administration for "siding with China instead of standing by the fishermen and assisting them."
"indi tayo papayag na sila ang magdidikta sa atin, atin 'yan, e. Tayo ay gobyerno ng Pilipinas, hindi tayo probinsya ng China...Ang ating mga mangingisda ang nagpapakain sa atin kaya dapat lang na ipaglaban din natin at suportahan sila (We will not let them dictate us because that's ours. We are the government of the Philippines not a province of China...Our fishermen are the ones feeding us, it's only right to fight for them and support them),” Pangilinan said.
The lawmaker reiterated that in order for a similar incident to not happen again, the deployment of uniformed men, particularly the Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard, in the territorial waters of the country must be strengthened.
Pangilinan is barnstorming Occidental Mindoro, where he met with farmers who are seeking help from the government as they continue to suffer from losses as a result of smuggling of onion and the problem on pests.
The aspiring vice president assured the farmers that the Senate has already investigated the smuggling of food produce, where the Department of Agriculture (DA) vowed to investigate the matter and run after the people behind this deplorable act.
He also said that attached agencies of the DA should have a sense of urgency to put in place mechanisms that will help local farmers in Occidental Mindoro to fight pests.