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As Dar takes over agriculture department, fisherfolk demands scrapping of fisheries liberalization policies
News Release
August 14, 2019
As Dar takes over agriculture department, fisherfolk demands scrapping of fisheries liberalization policies
Manila, Philippines – Fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) joined the call of rice watch group Bantay Bigas to the newly-appointed agriculture secretary William Dar to protect the local rice industry amid the detrimental impacts of the Republic Act 11203, otherwise known as the Rice Liberalization Law (RLL) to small rice farmers across the country.
“We are one with the rice farmers and poor consumers in demanding the repeal of RLL and enactment of a nationalist and democratic proposal, House Bill 477 or the RICE Industry Development Act (RIDA), filed by lawmakers under the Makabayan bloc,” Fernando Hicap, PAMALAKAYA National Chairperson said during the protest in front of the Department of Agriculture (DA) yesterday.
“Nothing favorable can come out from Duterte’s shady “joint exploration” deals with China” – fisherfolk group
News Release
August 11, 2019
“Nothing favorable can come out from Duterte’s shady “joint exploration” deals with China” – fisherfolk group
Manila, Philippines – Amid President Rodrigo Duterte’s pronouncement that he would discuss a “60-40 sharing favoring the Philippines” on a “joint exploration” with China, the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) raised its opposition and straightaway slammed it as “sell-out” and nothing favorable for the country could come out from his shady negotiations with the Asian imperialist power. The Duterte administration has only publicized a lowly Memorandum of Understanding on oil and gas exploration in November 2018.
“Nothing favorable could come out from this shady and non-transparent deal of Duterte with China. He is dealing for himself and his cronies, not for the Filipino people,” PAMALAKAYA-Pilipinas National Chairperson and former Anakpawis lawmaker Fernando “Ka Pando” Hicap said in a press statement.
Fed up with the lies, fishers vow to have Duterte’s 4th SONA a final one
News Release
July 22, 2019
Fed up with the lies, fishers vow to have Duterte’s 4th SONA a final one
Manila, Philippines – Parading with them a wrecked fishing banca bearing resemblance to the Gem-Ver 1, the fishing boat that was rammed and sank by a Chinese fishing fleet in Recto Bank, hundreds of fisherfolk under the national fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) on Monday took the streets of Commonwealth Ave. in Quezon City, in time of President Rodrigo Duterte’s 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA).
PAMALAKAYA said the fishing banca symbolized not only the Gem-Ver 1, but the worsening condition of the Filipino fisherfolk under the Duterte administration due to his foreign policies with China that affect the national sovereignty and dignity of the Filipino people.
“In a very serious situation, this is how we describe the socioeconomic condition of the Filipino fisherfolk, which are already the country’s poorest of the poor, under the Duterte administration. President Duterte’s foreign policies with China have intensified the harassment, bullying, and intimidation of Filipino fishers in the West Philippine Sea,” Fernando Hicap, PAMALAKAYA National Chairperson said before tens of thousands from various sectors who attended the United People’s SONA protest today.
DENR slammed for issuing ECC to Bulacan Aerotropolis
News Release
July 8, 2019
DENR slammed for issuing ECC to Bulacan Aerotropolis
Manila, Philippines – The militant fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) on Monday slammed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for providing environmental compliance certificate (ECC) to San Miguel Corporation’s (SMC) P700-billion Bulacan Aerotropolis, a reclamation project that will be constructed in the 2,500-hectare coastal waters in Bulakan, Bulacan. The group recorded around 700 fishing and coastal families in seven sitios of Barangay Taliptip in Bulakan are under the threat of displacement to pave way for the aerotropolis.
The fisherfolk group said Bulacan Aerotropolis is the 4th reclamation project to be given an environmental permit by the DENR. Others projects that has already acquired an ECC include the 419-hectare Horizon Manila Project, the 148-hectare Manila Solar City, and the 318-hectare Manila Waterfront Project.
PCG-Marina report enough to sue Chinese perpetrators – fisherfolk group
News Release
July 9, 2019
PCG-Marina report enough to sue Chinese perpetrators – fisherfolk group
Manila, Philippines – One month after the Recto Bank incident, the activist fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) said the incident report of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) which proves that the Chinese vessel did intentionally ram a fishing vessel carrying 22 Filipino fishermen should be used in court to sue the Chinese perpetrators.
In a statement, PAMALAKAYA National Chairperson said that “with the result of the PCG-Marina investigation, there is no need for a joint probe between China and the Philippines, which the Duterte administration has been pushing through, because we already have sufficient information to hold the Chinese perpetrators accountable for almost killing our poor, helpless fishermen inside our own territory,”
“The PCG-Marina incident report says it all; the Chinese vessel intentionally rammed and abandoned our fishermen where they could have been killed if not for the Vietnamese fishermen who rescued them. This is enough evidence to bring the Chinese perpetrators to justice even without a one-sided Philippines-China joint probe in favor to the offenders,” Hicap, former Anakpawis Party-list solon added.
Support impeachment raps vs Duterte, Congress urged
News Release
July 7, 2019
Support impeachment raps vs Duterte, Congress urged
Manila, Philippines – A former solon and now fisherfolk leader is urging the newly-elected legislators in the 18th Congress to support the impeachment complaint his organization will file against President Rodrigo Duterte as soon as the lawmakers convened on July 22.
Fernando Hicap, then Representative of Anakpawis Party-list during the 16th Congress and now national chairperson of the militant fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA), said his group “will lead the filing of impeachment against President Duterte for violation of the constitution, treason, and betrayal of public trust by compromising the West Philippine Sea and rights of the Filipino fisherfolk to China.”
PAMALAKAYA said President Duterte has violated the constitution when he had a verbal agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2016 that China can legally fish in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which according to the national fisherfolk organization, violates Article VII, Section 21 of the Philippine Constitution which states that “No treaty or international agreement shall be valid & effective unless concurred in by at least two thirds of all the Members of the Senate.”
Amid jail threat, fisherfolk seeks Duterte’s impeachment
News Release
July 5, 2019
Amid jail threat, fisherfolk seeks Duterte’s impeachment
Manila, Philippines – Fisherfolk under the group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) on Friday trooped Mendiola, Manila to call for the impeachment of President Rodrigo Duterte for compromising the fishing rights of Filipino fishers as well as the resources of the West Philippine Sea.
“Duterte is culpable of treason and violating the constitution for allowing China to exploit our marine territory which is exclusive for the Filipino people. His questionable deals with China also violate the fishing rights of our fishermen in the West Philippine Sea. The longer he stays in power, the longer our fishers will suffer and fish stocks will be jeopardized,” Fernando Hicap, PAMALAKAYA National Chairperson said during the protest.
The fisherfolk group is unperturbed by the threat of President Duterte that anyone who will file impeachment complaint against him will be subjected to arrest, saying that “with the violations in the constitution that the President has committed, he is the one that should be jailed.”
Duterte’s verbal fishing deal with Xi still grounds for impeachment – PAMALAKAYA
News Release
July 2, 2019
Duterte’s verbal fishing deal with Xi still grounds for impeachment – PAMALAKAYA
Manila, Philippines – “Whether verbal or formal agreement, the mere fact that our chief executive has given a go signal to China to exploit our marine territory at the expense of Filipino fisherfolk is more than enough to have him impeached over treason and culpable violation of our constitution,” according to the militant fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) on Tuesday.
The fisherfolk group slated Duterte for having an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping concerning the country’s fishing territory without a democratic consultation with the Filipino fishers whose livelihood and rights are at stake because of the deal.
“A chief executive does not make an agreement with a foreign counterpart without getting the side of its constituents especially if it involves and compromises our rights to our exclusive territory,” Fernando Hicap, PAMALAKAYA National Chairperson said in a statement.
PAMALAKAYA slams irregularities, reported fraud in midterm polls
News Release
May 17, 2019
PAMALAKAYA slams irregularities, reported fraud in midterm polls
Manila, Philippines – The militant fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) has assailed irregularities and fraud initially reported by its chapters, that eventually resulted to the dislodging of progressive candidates such as Anakpawis party-list and senatoriable Neri Colmenares in midterm elections held last Monday.
The coastal-based group was primarily condemning the intensified intervention of government security forces against Anakpawis, which is deemed illegal by the Omnibus Election Code.
“The Duterte government exhausted public funds and the state machinery against Anakpawis, to the point of threatening the electorate against voting and attacking the local leaders to undermine the campaign. This is worse than fraud, as it is an outright undermining of the supposedly civilian, free and democratic electoral practice,” Fernando Hicap, PAMALAKAYA National Chairperson said in a statement.
The group, whose members acted as poll watchers on the elections day, seriously condemned the mass break down of the vote counting machines, the replacement of SD cards and the outage of the transparency server. It asserted that these failures are all breaches of the credibility and integrity of the election.
“There is indeed something fishy on the unexplained irregularities last elections which are mind-boggling and deserve a thorough scrutiny from no less than an independent body composed of election lawyers, people’s organizations, and information technology experts,” Hicap, former representative of Anakpawis Party-list added.
BFAR challenged to defy reclamation plan in Manila Bay fish conservation areas
BFAR challenged to defy reclamation plan in Manila Bay fish conservation areas
Manila, Philippines – “If there is a government agency that should oppose reclamation projects, it must be the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) that has declared some parts of Manila Bay as fish conservation areas,” according to the activist fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA-Pilipinas) demanding the BFAR to back the sentiments of the fisherfolk against reclamation projects in Manila Bay.
Data from the BFAR shows that there is an existing conservation area for sardines in the southeastern part of Manila Bay which numerous reclamation projects will be found – including the 318-hectare Manila Waterfront City, the 419-hectare Horizon Manila, the 407.42-hectare New Manila Bay International Community, and the 50-hectare expansion of Manila Harbour Centre. The BFAR-declared conservation area, the group further added, lies the concentrations of fish larvae, phytoplankton, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, and silicate that all play a significant role to the marine ecosystem.
“Reclamation will effectively destroy the same amount of sea grasses and soft-bottom communities that serve as the spawning ground and habitat of variety of marine life. Moreover, they are the primary sources of livelihood for fisherfolk and food supply for the entire country. Allowing reclamation projects to happen will defeat the purpose of the government programs to conserve fish species and other marine resources. The BFAR should issue a public statement denouncing the reclamation projects pending throughout the Manila Bay and advance the protection of its marine life to improve fisheries productivity,” Fernando Hicap, PAMALAKAYA National Chairperson said in a statement.
Pamalakaya-Pilipinas 