Nathaniel Baga-ut | Spokesperson, PAMALAKAYA- Panay
Following the recently concluded State of the Panay Peasant Address (SOPPA), provincial chapters of the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya (PAMALAKAYA) Panay, in Aklan, Capiz, and Iloilo — conducted simultaneous fluvial and coastal community protests last July 19 to declare its growing dissatisfaction over the administration’s management of the municipal fisherfolk sector.
With one week left for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to deliver his State of the Nation Address (SONA), PAMALAKAYA-Panay asserts that 4 years under Marcos Jr.’s term has not alleviated the primary problems of the small-scale fisherfolk.
The provincial chapters cite his lack of commitment to address the loopholes of the outdated Fisheries Code of 1998, decision to approve mostly aquaculture-related laws, complicity over the corruption scam that has robbed millions of fisherfolk of aid, and inability to defend the country’s sovereign rights to the West Philippine Sea (WPS) — especially amid the recent 10-year anniversary of the WPS arbitral ruling.
Other key issues highlighted include the record-low production of the municipal fisheries subsector (8.8%), the lack of actual livelihood support amid oil price hikes and fish bans, and fixation over entering free-trade agreements that exacerbate importation, among others.
With both the President and Vice President recently garnering record-low trust ratings, the people’s clarion call for an overhaul of the corrupt bureaucrat-capitalist regime is clear. The series of mobilizations and protests all around the country urge the Filipino people to rise for genuine, national democratic rights and social justice.
