Amid WPS tension, Zambales fishers receive ‘payao’ donation

FRESH CATCH Fishermen in Masinloc town, Zambales, unload a crate of squid caught within the municipal waters —Joanna Rose Aglibot

SAN ANTONIO, ZAMBALES, Philippines — Seven fisherfolk groups in Zambales, whose livelihoods have been disrupted by harassment from the Chinese in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), received fish-aggregating devices, or “payao,” on Tuesday to help them sustain their only source of income.

Leonardo Cuaresma, President of the New Masinloc Fishermen Association, said the payao would benefit their families as many fishers had stopped going near Scarborough Shoal (locally known as Panatag or Bajo de Masinloc) due to the escalating tensions between the Philippine and Chinese coast guards.

READ: Zambales fishers urged to return to West PH Sea amid Chinese vessels

Cuaresma’s group and six others—Mabayo Agri-Aqua Association, Subic Commercial Fishing Association Inc., Nagtulong Fishermen’s Association, Barretto Fishermen’s Association, Samahan at Ugnayan ng mga Mangingisda sa Matain, and the San Miguel Pundaquit Fisherfolk Association—were the beneficiaries of the “Adopt-a-Payao” project spearheaded by the Atin Ito Coalition, former Sen. Bam Aquino, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the Rotary Club of Makati.

“It’s hard to risk our lives going back there (Panatag) … There’s only one Philippine Coast Guard ship against numerous Chinese vessels, which continue to prevent our fishermen from accessing the lagoon,” Cuaresma told the Inquirer.—Joanna Rose Aglibot