Tiniyak ni National Security Adviser Eduardo Año na kikilos ang pamahalaan ng Pilipinas matapos "bakuran" ng China ang Scarborough Shoal o Bajo de Masinloc sa pamamagitan ng paglalagay ng floating barrier para hindi makapangisda sa lugar ang mga mangingisdang Pinoy.
“We will take all appropriate actions to cause the removal of the barriers and to protect the rights of our fishermen in the area,” sabi ni Año sa inilabas na pahayag nitong Lunes.
Ayon sa opisyal, nilabag ng China ang traditional fishing rights ng mga mangingisdang Pinoy sa lugar base na rin sa 2016 Arbitral ruling dahil sa ginawa nilang paglalagay ng floating barrier.
“We condemn the installation of floating barriers by [Chinese Coast Guard] in [Bajo de Masinloc]. The placement by the Peoples Republic of China of a barrier violates the traditional fishing rights of our fishermen whose rights to have been affirmed by the 2016 Arbitral ruling,” ayon kay Año.
.“It ruled categorically that such action by the PRC violated the traditional fishing rights of our fishermen in the shoal who have been fishing there for centuries. Any State that prevents them from doing artisanal fishing there violates UNCLOS and international law, in general,” dagdag pa niya.
Sinabi naman ni National Security Council (NSC) Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya, na may karapatan ang Pilipinas na alisin ang inilagay na "bakod" ng China sa Scarborough Shoal.
“Maliwanag na maliwanag po iyong 2016 arbitral ruling kung saan itong Scarborough Shoal ay may karapatan ang ating mga mangingisdang makapagpangisda diyan ever since mula pa centuries ago,” paliwanag ng opisyal sa televised public briefing.
“Maliwag po ang international law diyan, ang UNCLOS diyan at may karapatan ang ating bansa na tanggalin iyang nilagay ng Chinese Coast Guard,” patuloy niya.
Sinabi ni Año na ipinapaalam nila kay Pangulong Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. ang anumang nangyayari sa West Philippine Sea, partikular sa Scarborough Shoal at Ayungin Shoal.
Si Año ang namumuno sa National Task Force West Philippine Sea (NTF WPS).
Una rito, sinabi ni , Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela, na ang NTF-WPS at si Pres. Marcos ang magpapasya kung aalisin ang floating barrier na inilagay ng China.
“We gave the report already to the NTF-WPS wherein the Department of Justice, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of National Defense are all part of this inter-agency task force and chaired by the National Security Adviser,” sabi ni Tarriela sa GMA Integrated News’ Unang Balita.
“Should the NTF-WPS recommend to the President kung ano man ang gagawin nating action dito, the PCG, BFAR [Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources], and even the Armed Forces of the Philippines will comply kung ano man ang magiging desisyon dito ng ating national government,” dagdag niya.
Nitong Linggo, sinabi ng PCG na may 300 metrong haba ng floating barrier ang inilagay ng China sa Scarborough Shoal para pagbawalan ang mga mangingisdang pumunta sa lugar kung saan marami umanong isda.
Sinabi ni Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri na dapat putulin at alisin ng PCG ang floating barrier.
“I would like to request our PCG to immediately cut and remove all these illegal structures located at our West Philippine Sea not just to assert our sovereign rights to the area but to protect our fishermen from any possible accidents that may arise from these illegal structures,” ani Zubiri.
Inihayag naman ni House Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto na mistulang crime against humanity ang paglalagay ng China ng floating barrier sa Scarborough Shoal dahil hinaharangan nito ang mga mangingisda ang kabuhayan ng mga Pinoy.
“By cutting our access to a major protein source, China is playing a different kind of hunger games, making fish scarce for us, while satiating its people’s large appetite for seafood,” sabi ni Recto sa isang pahayag.
“China must be called out for what it is really doing in the WPS: a food blockade that is a crime against humanity,” dagdag ng mambabatas.--FRJ, GMA Integrated News
