Despite the presence of Chinese vessels, Filipino fishermen were urged by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) anew to go to Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough or Panatag Shoal) and cast their nets as it is their right to earn a livelihood in the area.

Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for West Philippine Sea, made the appeal a week after a floating barrier installed by China in Bajo de Masinloc was removed by the coast guard.

"I would like to re-emphasize to the Filipino fishermen that they have all the reasons to fish in Bajo de Masinloc. If you are going to ask the Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources [BFAR], we are actually encouraging Filipino fishermen to go to Bajo de Masinloc and fish there," Tarriela said in a television interview with CNN Philippines on Tuesday, Oct. 3.

He said the BFAR has been providing fuel subsidy and grocery items for the fishermen so they could continue their fishing expedition in the disputed shoal.

Last week, the PCG monitored 54 Filipino fishing vessels after it cut the anchor of a floating barrier put up by the China Coast Guard (CCG) and Chinese maritime militia (CMM) vessels at the southeast entrance of Bajo de Masinloc. The barrier allegedly prevented Filipino fishermen from accessing the shoal.

The total catch of the fishing vessels that trooped to Bajo de Masinloc at the time was 168 tons, Tarriela said.

However, Tarriela admitted that Filipino fishermen still could not enter the lagoon at Bajo de Masinloc as it is being guarded by CCG vessels.

"They cannot enter the lagoon yet but within the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc, they can fish. The only time that they are being pursued or apprehended by the rubber boats deployed by China Coast Guard is whenever they would attempt to go inside the lagoon," he said.

Tarriela noted that this, however, should not be done by the CCG as Bajo de Masinloc has been a traditional fishing ground of Filipino fishermen for centuries already, and their right to harvest fish in the area was protected under the 2016 Arbitral Ruling, which invalidated China's claims in majority of the South China Sea.

Tarriela also dismissed the claim of China that it voluntarily removed the floating barrier at Bajo de Masinloc, and the video released by the PCG showing its own personnel cutting the anchor of the barrier was fabricated.

"We don't need to prove already that we are the ones who cut the barrier. We presented the videos and these are not fabricated videos," he said.

"I don't see any reason why the Chinese government keeps on believing with their own story that we are just creating drama and fabrication of story," he added.