Fishers, driven off Scarborough, pin hope for change on polls

FISHERMAN Silver Lopez, 38, spends the whole day fixing leaks and hammering rivets to restore the 30-foot FB Marvin-I, which has been moored near the town’s public market for months. The ship is up for sale since its owner has abandoned the idea of going back to the disputed Scarborough Shoal. ALLAN MACATUNO/INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON

SUBIC, Zambales—The chance to help usher in a new government that would protect their main source of livelihood, fishing at the Scarborough Shoal, is driving local fishermen to cut short their fishing trips to vote on May 9.

Interviewed by the Inquirer, some of the fishermen expressed what could be their common aspiration—a new President that would fight for their right to fish in Scarborough, a shoal that residents here refer to as Bajo de Masinloc and which is 240 kilometers from the coastline of Zambales province.

Several boats had started the journey back from the open sea since Tuesday, said Jun Buenaventura, who finances some of the fishing trips.

“They are returning home to cast their ballots. It is timely that some of them were able to make a good catch before the elections,” Buenaventura said.

The fishing expeditions in the West Philippine Sea usually lasted three months, he said. “The trips become shorter only when the fishermen are able to catch more than enough fish to recoup their expenses,” he said.

Among those who just returned from the shoal is the crew of fishing vessel FB JJ-3, which engaged Chinese Coast Guard vessels in an unarmed clash, pelting the Chinese intruders with rocks on March 7.

Fisherman Ronald Arciete and seven other crew members of FB JJ-3 arrived here on Wednesday after a weeklong fishing trip near the shoal.

“We returned earlier than usual to cast our votes on Monday since it’s a very important occasion,” Arciete said.

When Arciete’s group fished around the shoal in March, the Chinese Coast Guard tried to blind them with laser lights to drive them away.

In several instances since 2012, Chinese ships rammed and fired water cannons at Filipino boats.

Joely Saligan, a fisherman, said he would vote for candidates who had shown “genuine concern” for fishermen and had clear plans for addressing the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea.

“I would like to vote for the candidate who will assert our rights on the shoal and protect us from the Chinese intruders,” Saligan said. Allan Macatuno, Inquirer Central Luzon