Fisherfolk livelihood tied to West Philippine Sea amid disputes, says Archbishop Villegas

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Beyond legal principles and politics, the dispute of the West Philippine Sea is affecting the livelihood and sustenance of fisherfolk who ride the waves on flimsy bancas and are up against the Chinese armed vessels and powerful ships, said Lingayen Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas.

"Our people in Pangasinan are crying for help. I am their pastor. I am lending my voice to their groaning. Many of the people to whom my priests and I minister are fisherfolk for whom the West Philippine Sea means livelihood and sustenance for themselves and for the members of their families," said Villegas in a statement entitled "Setting our Feet on the Path of Peace: A Pastoral Moral Guidance for the Archdiocese of Lingayen Dagupan on the Issue of the West Philippine Sea."

"So it has been for decades past. The sea was what supported the humble fisherfolk of the Archdiocese of Lingayen Dagupan and the Dioceses of Iba and Alaminos. Its resources and wealth gave them and their families security. But they have never been greedy, never rapacious. They have taken from the sea only what they need!" he added.

Government leaders

The West Philippine Sea refers to the maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago, including the Luzon Sea and the waters around, within, and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had "no legal basis."

However, China has refused to recognize the decision.

Recently, there has been a heated word exchange between Philippine and Chinese officials with some legislators urging that Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines be declared persona non grata.

On Friday, Defense Secretary Gilberto "Gibo" Teodoro said that if China forcefully towed away the sunken warship BRP Sierra Madre, it would be an act of war against the Philippines.

A report from a Chinese news outlet claimed that Beijing was mulling sanctions against Manila, including the towing of the BRP Sierra Madre—a World War II-era warship that was deliberately run aground in 1999 in Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea and continues to serve as an outpost for the country.

"'Yung Sierra Madre BRP, barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas ano at kung iyan ay tinangka, or, may mangyari diyan at sa kadahilanan ng ginamitan ng puwersa, eh, iyan ay act of war against the Republic of the Philippines," Teodoro said.

(The Sierra Madre BRP, it is a ship of the Republic of the Philippines, and if there is an attempt, or if something happened to it by force, that is an act of war against the Republic of the Philippines.)

Bancas against armed ships

Bishop Villegas, in his statement, expressed his support for Filipino leaders defending the country's territory.

"I stand firmly with those who assert Philippine sovereignty and insist on our sovereign rights over the maritime zones that prevailing law declares in our favor," said Villegas, adding that the issue is beyond legal principles and politics.

"It has to do with the livelihood of the fisherfolk in Pangasinan and Zambales, and the security of their future and that of their children. Do not forget the poor," he said.

Villegas said the flimsy bancas of fisherfolk are up against armed vessels and powerful ships.

"THIS IS A MORAL ISSUE. It has to do with justice as well as stewardship of creation, and IN THE NAME OF GOD, I ask the government to be firm and unyielding about what is lawfully ours and rightfully our people’s without provoking hostilities, but without cowering, however, in the face of the threat," the prelate said.

"The West Philippine Sea is God’s gift to His people. Its resources come from the Creator’s munificence and generosity. Defending it is taking the side of the people whom God has favored by the gift of the sea," he added. — BAP, GMA News