Marcos on filing cases amid cyanide fishing: If there's enough ground, we will

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Tuesday expressed openness to file cases in relation to the alleged cyanide fishing at Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc.

"If we feel that there is enough ground to do so, we will," the President said.

Marcos said he is privy of the information that cyanide fishing is really happening in the region. 

"There really is as far as we can tell, sabi ng (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources) talagang mayroong ginagamit, mayroon naman nagsasabi matagal na diyan ginagawa 'yan and I do know that there are cases of cyanide fishing before even here in the Philippines," Marcos said.

(There really is as far as we can tell. The BFAR said cyanide was really used, others say cyanide fishing has been done for a long time already. And I do know that there are cases of cyanide fishing before even here in the Philippines.)

Last Monday, National Task Force West Philippine Sea (NTF WPS) spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said the Philippines may file cases against China and Vietnam amid reports by Filipino fishermen of cyanide fishing at Bajo de Masinloc.

Upon investigation into the matter, Malaya said the findings would be forwarded to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) for the possible filing of cases before a tribunal.

The BFAR reported that recent deployments at Bajo de Masinloc showed that the lagoon was heavily damaged, possibly due to cyanide fishing.

Filipino fishermen had purportedly told BFAR that China was deliberately harming the shoal to deter Filipinos from fishing there. Damage to the ecosystem has reached "billions of pesos," the BFAR said.

For its part, the Philippine Coast Guard earlier said that it has yet to confirm reports of cyanide fishing in the area, and if these could be attributed to Chinese or Vietnamese fishermen.

Meanwhile, China's Foreign Ministry said that Philippine allegations that Chinese fishermen had been using cyanide were sheer fabrication.

While emphasizing that China had sovereignty over "Huangyan Dao" and its adjacent waters, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told the Global Times that the "Chinese government attaches great importance to the protection of eco-environment and conservation of fishing resource and resolutely fights against fishing activities that violate laws and regulations." — VDV, GMA Integrated News