A group of fisherfolk has cautioned against the Philippine and Chinese governments' "coordinated” fishing ban in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). In a statement released Thursday, June 22, the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said the current administration should not entertain Beijing’s fishing ban that covers the Philippine waters. Fernando Hicap, Pamalakaya chairperson, said the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. “should outrightly reject Beijing’s annual unilateral fishing ban.” “There should be no room for any compromise, not even a coordination in regards to fishing activities in our territorial waters,” he said. “We assert that the Filipinos are not obligated to abide by the fishing ban imposed by a country that has been responsible for massive destruction of coral reefs and other marine resources in the West Philippine Sea.” According to Hicap, Marcos seems to agree to a coordinated fishing ban with China at the expense of Filipino fisherfolk. “No amount of alternative source of income could equate the fishing livelihood of Filipinos in the resource-rich West Philippine Sea, and its significant contribution to our local food security,” he said. The fisherfolk group reminded President Marcos that China has no moral ascendancy, not especially a legal right, to impose a fishing ban on the pretext of marine conservation. “Because it is the one destroying our marine biodiversity and ecosystem through massive reclamation, illegal poaching, and industrial fishing expeditions,” said Hicap. “If there’s something that should be banned permanently in our waters, it must be China’s destructive activities,” he added. On June 20, Marcos told reporters that the Philippines and China are “making some progress” in their discussions about fishing rights in the WPS.