Fishermen in boat rammed by Chinese back Robredo

MANILA, Philippines — Fishermen who survived the ramming incident of their boat by a Chinese vessel inside Philippine waters in 2019 have expressed support for Vice President Leni Robredo and Sen. Francis Pangilinan for the top posts in the land.

Robredo and Pangilinan held a dialogue with fishermen in Occidental Mindoro during their visit to the province on Wednesday.

It was attended by the Mindoro22, the group of fishermen who survived the ramming of F/B Gem-Ver 1 at Recto Bank inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone on June 9, 2019.

Following the incident, Robredo’s office – through its Angat Buhay program – provided various forms of support to the victims and their families, including cash and fishing equipment.

The group issued a manifesto of support for the opposition tandem in the upcoming elections.

In a radio interview, Pangilinan reiterated their commitment not to turn a blind eye on the continuous harassment that Filipino fishermen suffer from Chinese vessels while fishing in contested areas of the South China Sea.

Under a Robredo-Pangilinan government, he said the Philippines would continue asserting its right over the West Philippine Sea by virtue of the 2016 arbitral ruling.

“We should take a stand… and not be submissive to China. We are not trying to engage in a conflict, but we will fight for our fishermen,” he added in Filipino.

In order to prevent an incident similar to the ramming of Gem-Ver, Pangilinan stressed the need to strengthen the deployment of uniformed personnel in the territorial waters of the country, particularly the Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard.

He also met with onion farmers who have been affected by low prices caused by smuggling.

Robredo and Pangilinan, along with some of their senatorial bets, joined the people’s rally held in San Jose Municipal Plaza in Occidental Mindoro before traveling to Palawan.

Meanwhile, during their visit to Rizal on Tuesday, the tandem signed a covenant affirming their support for indigenous people’s communities in the province.

Robredo and Pangilinan assured indigenous groups under the 1Sambubungan coalition of their commitment to protect and promote the welfare of marginalized groups, including indigenous peoples.

Items included in the covenant include recognition of the important role of indigenous peoples in national development, respect of their right to self-determination and the call for long and lasting peace.

“What we signed now is not just on paper. What we signed is not just for the campaign,” Robredo told IP groups in Filipino. “The proof of this is that even before we got elected, we are already doing what we can to assist you.”

Before running for public office, Robredo was a member of non-government organization Saligan, which provides free legal assistance to marginalized and disadvantaged sectors, including members of IP communities.