Fisherfolk leader announces 2025 Senate bid

Ronnel Arambulo, 48, a fisherfolk leader, declared his candidacy for senator in the 2025 midterm elections in Navotas City on Monday (Photo courtesy of Pamalakaya)

SAN ANTONIO, Zambales — Hoping to advance the interests of Filipino fishermen, a fisherfolk leader on Monday announced his senatorial bid in the 2025 midterm polls.

Ronnel Arambulo, 48, is the fifth candidate to run under the Makabayan coalition. He is from Laguna de Bay and is currently the vice chairperson of the fisherfolk group Pamalakaya.

In a phone interview on Monday, Arambulo said he welcomed the challenge of the coalition to be part of their senatorial slate because for a long time, not a single candidate in the national elections represented the interests of Filipino fishermen, who are among the poorest in the country.

Arambulo also said the presence of Chinese military forces in the West Philippine Sea and the harassment that they did to Filipino fishermen are also his inspirations for running for senator.

“As I lived for some time with the fishermen of Zambales, I personally witnessed and felt the hardships they suffer not only in the West Philippine Sea but also within the municipal fisheries,” he said.

“Zambales fishermen received little and no significant support from the government despite the many threats to their livelihood. It is necessary to systematically support their livelihood, and to create a policy that will effectively recognize their exclusive fishing rights,” he added.

Arambulo has been a fisherfolk leader since 2008, leading grassroots campaigns in defense of coastal communities and fishing grounds against reclamation and all forms of conversion and privatization.

He was also involved in protest actions against foreign aggression in Philippine waters, including the Independence Day protest in Botolan, Zambales in 2023; a collective fishing expedition in Masinloc, Zambales to exercise fishing rights amid China’s unilateral fishing ban last May; and the fluvial protest in Subic, Zambales to mark the 8th year of the South China Sea arbitration ruling last July.

Fisherfolk leaders from Zambales and Manila Bay and environmental groups were present at Arambulo’s declaration of his senatorial bid in Navotas City to personally endorse his candidacy.

The Makabayan coalition earlier announced that they aim to field a complete slate of 12 senatorial candidates representing the marginalized sectors.

Those who already announced their senatorial bids were ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro, Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas, Kilusang Mayo Uno’s Jerome Adonis, and former anti-poverty Czar Liza Maza.