Fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) is against the idea of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) making fishermen as “reserve forces” in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), saying this would put their lives in danger.

The group wsa reacting to the statement of AFP Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. that the military is considering the establishment of a maritime militia in the WPS and is eyeing to integrate Filipino fishers into the “reserve forces.”

“We reject being the AFP’s reserve forces against China in the West Philippine Sea, as it will further put us in danger. Why would they employ the fisherfolk as army reservists when we are not trained to be one in the first place?” the group said in a statement released on Monday, Aug. 14.

The fishers reminded the AFP that it is their responsibility to defend and secure the Philippines’ sovereignty at all times as mandated by the Constitution. 

“Whatever happened to the 150,000 active forces in the AFP, with 24,500 in the Navy including its 15,000 reserve personnel?” Pamalakaya asked.

Instead of eyeing fishers as reservists, the group said that the AFP dispatch its large forces in the West Philippine Sea to secure the Philippines’ territorial waters and vast marine resources being claimed by China.

Bobby Roldan, vice chairperson of Pamalakaya-Luzon, said “Filipino fishers are committed to defending our fishing rights peacefully and diplomatically, using the United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and other rules of international law.”

To recall, tensions in the WPS flared up again after the Chinese Coast Guard fired water cannons on the Philippine Coast Guard fleet, which was on a resupply mission to Filipino troops stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre in the Ayungin Shoal.