The livelihood of fishermen on Pag-asa Island continues to be affected by the presence of foreign fishing vessels in the area.

Romeo Malaguit, who has been living on the island since 2007, said Filipino fishermen's small boats are nothing compared to the large fishing vessels of Vietnam and China.

After going fishing for five hours on Thursday, he went home with only 12 kilos of fish.

"Kaagaw namin sa pangingisda ang Vietnamese. Sila nagsa-cyanide at dynamite," Malaguit told ABS-CBN News.

"Ang Chinese naman, ang pangingisda nila, mga barko. Ang karagatan na ito pinapailawan nila. Pag diyan sila, wala rin kaming huli. Sila may ilaw, kami kawil-kawil lang. Sa kanila, pag may ilaw sa gabi, ang isda pupunta sa barko nila. Isang harvest nila, tone-tonelada," he added.

(We compete with the Vietnamese for a catch. They use cyanide and dynamite. The Chinese meanwhile use ships for fishing. When they are there, we have no catch either. They have light, we just use a fishing line. Whenever they use light at night, the fish will go to their ship. As a result, they harvest tons of fish.)

• More than 40 Chinese ships spotted 'loitering' around Pag-asa Island

Harassment prevails in the West Philippine Sea as the China Coast Guard (CCG) continues to intimidate and block island residents from fishing in Philippine waters.

Monico Abogado said fisherfolk have decided not to go where Chinese militia and coast guard ships are deployed to avoid being harassed.

"Mahirap gawa ng hindi makapag-penetrate dito sa kanluran dahil nagpapatrolya ang CCG diyan. Binubusinahan kami at ginigiri-girian. Hinaharangan kami tapos tinataboy. Kaya dito na lang kami sa silangan, nagtatambak kami diyang mga mangingisda," Abogado shared.

"Minsan inaano pa kami, ‘Hey!’ Nilalapitan namin minsan. Pinapalayo kami. Pabayaan lang namin kasi hindi na kami makapunta diyan," he continued.

(We can't penetrate in the west because the CCG is patrolling there. We were honked and jostled. We were blocked and then pushed away. So here we are in the east, we are piling up with other fishermen. Sometimes they even say, 'Hey!' We sometimes approach them. We were sent away. We just let it pass because we can't go there anymore.)

Another fisherman, Felix Ulson, backed the story of Abogado.

"Hindi kami nakakapalayo pag mangisda rito. Gusto rin namin lumayo para makapangisda, kaso may mga barko nga," Ulson said. "Hindi na namin pinupuntahan kasi masyadong malaki ang mga barko nila. Sa amin maliliit lang."

(We can't go fishing far from here. We also want to go far to go fishing but there are ships. We don't go there anymore because their ships are too big. We're just small.)

The fishermen hope the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy will increase their presence in the area.

"Hiling ko sa gobyerno, sana magpatrolya naman ang Philippine Coast Guard at Philippine Navy na malalaking barko para magkaroon sila [China] ng pag-alinlangan," Abogado said. “Para makabwelo rin ang mga mangingisda sa island."

(My request to the government is to have the Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine Navy patrol large ships so [China] would be uneasy. So that the fishermen can also go to the island.)

Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. said there is a need "to harden our position" in the Kalayaan Island Group.

"We have 9 features we are occupying at kailangan tuluy-tuloy ang pag-develop natin dito. Gusto natin maging permanent ang ating presence dito sa West Philippine Sea. Kailangan gawin nating habitable ang mga isla na ito," Brawner told ABS-CBN News.

(We occupy 9 features and we need continuous development here. We want our presence here in the West Philippine Sea to be permanent. We need to make these islands habitable.)

He went on, "Hinihintay natin ang karagdagang mga barko natin. Hopefully, by next year, dumating na itong mga barko. We will have more patrols in the area."

(We await additional ships. Hopefully, by next year, these ships will arrive. We will have more patrols in the area.)

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House leaders visit Pag-asa Island

House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez led a small group of congressmen who visited Pag-asa Island on Thursday.

Joining the lawmakers were Brawner and AFP Western Command commander Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos.

The officials inspected ongoing government projects on the island. One of these is the construction of a sheltered port, where fishermen can take refuge during bad weather.

Construction of the facility started in 2019. The government hopes to finish the project before the year ends.

The lawmakers also saw the challenges faced by the locals and the uniformed personnel manning the country's outpost in the West Philippine Sea.

They also met with local officials of Kalayaan to discuss the construction of other facilities on the island. These include the proposed extension of the runway, expansion of docking facilities, and deepening of the entrance of the sheltered port.

The House Speaker vowed more funding for the proposed projects.

• House leaders vow to back development of Pag-asa Island in West PH Sea

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