Municipal fisherfolk from various coastal communities held a picket in front of the Department of Agriculture central office in Quezon City on Monday, July 27, to deliver their own “State of the Fisherfolk Address,” hours before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s fifth State of the Nation Address.
Led by PAMALAKAYA and KKAMPI, about 300 fishers from federations across the country marched to the DA to present what they said was the real condition of the fisheries sector.
They also created a mural illustrating declining catches, vanishing fishing grounds and the displacement of coastal families.
The protesters raised three major concerns: the intrusion of commercial fishing vessels inside the 15-kilometer municipal waters reserved for small fishers, the massive destruction of fishing grounds due to reclamation projects, and what they called foreign military intervention in Philippine fishing grounds.
PAMALAKAYA Vice Chairperson Ronnel Arambulo said small fishers traveled from different provinces to Manila to show their daily struggle for survival.
He said their account contrasts with the president’s SONA, which he described as far from the reality on the ground.
The group also flagged the threat of U.S. economic and security zones in Cavite and Zambales under the Luzon Economic Corridor. Fisherfolk leaders said the plan to convert Sangley Point in Cavite into a U.S. forward base and the series of military exercises off Zambales that enforced no-sail zones have endangered their safety and livelihood.
The fishers later joined a caravan along Commonwealth Avenue to join other progressive groups for the SONA protest. (Photo by Elmer Valenzuela)
