Marcos wants maintained Philippine presence in West Philippine Sea
At A Glance
- Tarriela explained the PCG was present in the Philippine waters from Feb. 1 to 9 while the BFAR deployed its personnel after their shift in conducting the rotational deployment.
President Marcos has directed the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Bureau of Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to continue their deployment in Bajo de Masinloc following China's continued presence in the disputed waters.

In a forum over the weekend, PCG spokesman for the West Philippine Sea (WPS), Commodore Jay Tarriela, said Marcos ordered them to maintain the country's presence in the WPS, particularly in Bajo de Masinloc which is a traditional fishing ground for Filipinos.
"Dahil dito (Because of this), it is now the guidance of our President to have a rational deployment between the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to maintain our presence in Bajo de Masinloc," he said.
Tarriela explained the PCG was present in the Philippine waters from Feb. 1 to 9 while the BFAR deployed its personnel after their shift in conducting the rotational deployment.
He said the BFAR has deployed its BRP Datu Tamblot, or the MMOV-3005, the Cessna Caravan, the RP-1077, and the Cessna 208-B and its aircraft from Clark, Pampanga.
During BFAR’s patrol in the area, Tarriela said the China Coast Guard vessel 3105 shadowed BFAR’s Tamblot when it reached a distance of one nautical mile off Bajo de Masinloc.
“So dinikitan siya at (They shadowed it) from then on, hindi na siya binitawan (they didn't let up). The entire presence [of the] BFAR vessel [there], it was consistently shadowed by the Chinese Coast Guard vessel particularly this one – China Coast Guard 3105,” he said.
Earlier, National Task Force for West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) Chairman and National Security Adviser Eduardo Año announced that starting this month, PCG and BFAR civilian vessels would be regularly seen patrolling the Bajo de Masinloc to ensure Filipino fishermen will be able to enter and fish in the area despite Chinese presence.
"These efforts aim to ensure the safety and security of our Filipino fishermen in their traditional fishing grounds," Año said.