MANILA(October 26) — Filipino fisherfolk risk losing their livelihoods as Chinese vessels harass small fishing boats in the West Philippine Sea, prompting Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas to urge the government to defend the country’s maritime claims while protecting vulnerable coastal communities from further hardship.
In a pastoral message on Sunday, Oct. 25, Villegas called on the government to stand firm in defending what he described as the country’s lawful maritime rights without provoking hostilities or yielding to threats.
“I ask the government to be firm and unyielding about what is lawfully ours and rightfully our people’s without provoking hostilities, but without cowering, however, in the face of the threat,” Villegas said.
“Defending it is taking the side of the people whom God has favored by the gift of the sea,” he added.
The archbishop described the West Philippine Sea as a gift from God, emphasizing its importance to fishing communities whose food, income and security depend on its resources.
He recalled how the sea had long sustained fisherfolk in the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan and the dioceses of Iba and Alaminos.
Villegas said these communities had depended on fishing for generations, but China’s actions at sea had made it increasingly difficult for fisherfolk in Pangasinan and Zambales to earn a living, placing their families’ futures at risk.
“Do not forget the poor,” he appealed to the government.
The archbishop contrasted the resources available to Chinese maritime forces with the limited means of Filipino fishing communities, whose small boats leave them vulnerable to harassment by larger vessels.
“While the People’s Republic of China can send armed vessels and powerful ships through the West Philippine Sea, our humble fishermen can only ride the waves on small and flimsy bancas and are certainly no match for the Chinese vessels that harass them and make earning a living difficult, if not impossible, many a time, for them!” he said.
His message linked the defense of the country’s maritime interests with the protection of communities whose livelihoods depend on access to fishing grounds.
For coastal families, maritime tensions can mean lost fishing days, reduced income and greater uncertainty over how to provide for their children. The consequences reach beyond territorial disputes to the daily struggle of households that depend on the sea for survival.
Villegas called for a government response that defends the country’s lawful claims without provoking hostilities, while refusing to yield to threats and ensuring that poor fishing communities are not left to bear the cost of maritime tensions.
His appeal underscored that defending the West Philippine Sea is also about protecting the people who depend on its waters to feed their families and sustain their future.
