By Junex Doronio
MANILA — Following reports from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) that Chinese fishermen were allegedly dumping cyanide to destroy the resource-rich Bajo de Masinloc, the National Security Council (NSC) on Monday said that once validated it will forward the report to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), which are preparing a case against China for environmental degradation.
“Ang sabi namin sa BFAR, complete the documentation that you have taken, ‘yung mga ebidensya at affidavits na makukuha natin, submit your post-mission reports to the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea. We will investigate this report,” NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said.
BFAR Chief Information Officer Nazario Briguera on Saturday (17 February 2024) said China was committing a violation with its deliberate destruction of the Bajo de Masinloc, which “undermines the sustainability not just of our waters but of the whole world.”
“The challenge dito is to prove the responsibility for the coral degradation and the impact to the environment is coming from these specific people,” Malaya noted, referring to some Chinese fishermen.
According to data from BFAR, there are about 385,300 Filipino fisherfolk who depend on the West Philippine Sea for their livelihood.
The data also showed that these fisherfolk catch around 275,520 metric tons of fish annually, which is between 6 and 7 percent of the Philippines’ entire fisheries sector.
(el Amigo/MNM)
