The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Benjie Alejandro
As the Philippine government continues to spotlight Chinese incursions in the West Philippine Sea, fisherfolk groups insist that the greater danger lies much closer to home. Organizations such as PAMALAKAYA and PANGISDA Pilipinas have openly distanced themselves from Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, accusing him of advancing “double-standard narratives” that favor another superpower while sacrificing the welfare of millions of small-scale fishermen.
PAMALAKAYA, led by Fernando Hicap, points to the expanded U.S.-Philippines-Japan military exercises as a direct assault on coastal livelihoods. In Palawan, Zambales, Cagayan, and Ilocos, fishing activities grind to a halt during live-fire drills and bomb tests. Compensation is negligible, with affected families receiving little more than token relief goods. “We refuse to rally behind officials who rabidly advance double-standard narratives,” the group declared.
PANGISDA Pilipinas echoes this warning, stressing that the 2.5 million small-scale fishers face compounded threats: military disruptions, massive reclamation projects in Manila Bay, and rampant illegal commercial fishing within municipal waters. These violations, often perpetrated by local corporations, have gone unchecked for years—undermining food security and driving small fishers deeper into poverty.
Adding to these concerns, the fisherfolk alliance led by Pablo Rosales underscores that militarization erodes not only livelihoods but also the freedom of coastal communities. For Rosales, the real battle is not in distant waters but along Manila Bay, where reclamation projects and corporate encroachment threaten the daily survival of local fishermen. Their demand is clear: halt destructive projects and prioritize the welfare of communities that depend on the sea.
Historically, the South China Sea was shared peacefully among Filipinos, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Indonesians for centuries. It was only after the 2016 UNCLOS ruling that the Philippine government permitted intensified U.S. military presence in the region.
For fisherfolk, this shift transformed the seas into a geopolitical stage—leaving them as collateral damage in a contest of superpowers.
The question, then, is whose interests are truly being served?
For the fisherfolk, the answer is evident: not theirs. As bombs fall and reclamation projects rise, the nation’s ‘palabigasan’—the food basket sustained by small-scale fishermen—is being sacrificed at the altar of geopolitics.