PH fishers narrate Chinese hostility

DAMAGED A hole is seen on the hull of the fishing boat, F/B Bubhoy, which was reportedly rammed by a rubber boat of the Chinese Coast Guard on March 5 when Filipino fishermen ventured near disputed Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea. ALLAN MACATUNO/INQUIRER CENTRAL LUZON

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan—A group of fishermen, who returned home to the fishing village of Cato in Infanta town on Monday, told village officials that they were struck with bottles hurled by Chinese coast guards who had chased them away from the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.

Charlito Maniago, Cato village chief, said the fishermen, who were in two boats, were pelted by the crew of a Chinese Coast Guard vessel, after they were warned to stay away from the disputed shoal.

Maniago said he was not informed when the confrontation took place at sea, although it could have been on the same day the fishermen from neighboring Zambales province were shooed away from the shoal on March 5.

“They just told me that they retaliated by throwing stones at the Chinese coast guards,” Maniago told the Inquirer by telephone.

The fisherman sailed with rocks, which they used to weigh down the fishing lines, once they reached Scarborough Shoal, also known as Panatag Shoal and Bajo de Masinloc.

The shoal, which is about 260 kilometers from Infanta, serves as a mid-sea refuge for fishing boats during stormy weather. It used to be a free zone for local fishermen until the Chinese began patrolling the West Philippine Sea.

Government officials have remained tight-lipped regarding the latest incidents that could heighten tensions between the Philippines and China in the disputed South China Sea.

Cmdr. Armand Balilo, spokesperson of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), said his office had not received reports about the alleged standoff between Chinese coast guards and Filipino fishermen in Zambales or in Pangasinan.

“I know nothing about it. When it comes to issues in the West Philippine Sea, PCG is not authorized to speak about these,” Balilo told the Inquirer on Monday.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has jurisdiction over the complaints of fishermen against the Chinese coast guards patrolling the shoal, he said.

Assistant Secretary Charles Jose, DFA spokesperson, said his office was still verifying the report. “We’re awaiting official report from our concerned agencies on the incident,” he said in a text message.

Maniago said only one of two fishing boats had returned to his village. The other one, he said, was already on its way home. Each vessel carried 10 fishermen.

Fishermen catch fish around the “payao” (artificial reefs) scattered some 10 nautical miles (18.52 kilometers) from the Panatag Shoal during day time. They sail to the shoal at night.

Jowe Legaspi, Cato council member and a fishing boat operator, said he almost deployed a group of fishermen to the shoal two weeks ago. But he said he was informed by his cousin Christopher de Vera, who had returned from the shoal, that the Chinese coast guards had also driven his boat away.

“They almost had no catch. They did not recover their expenses of about P40,000,” Legaspi said.

Legaspi was one of the 16 Infanta fishermen who asked the United Nations in September last year to compel China and its state agents to respect the rights of Filipino fishermen over their traditional fishing grounds in the Panatag Shoal.

Fishermen have been returning to the shoal despite the risk of being harassed by Chinese coast guard because the area is “really a rich fishing ground,” he said.

In January 2014, Chinese vessels fired water cannons at a group of Infanta fishermen and other fishing boats while these were anchored at the shoal to avoid huge waves whipped up by strong winds at that time.

On two occasions in April last year, 80 fishermen in 15 boats from Pangasinan, Zambales and Bataan provinces were driven away from the shoal by water cannons fired from a Chinese vessel guarding the area. With a report from Allan Macatuno, Inquirer Central Luzon