Fed up with the lies, fishers vow to have Duterte’s 4th SONA a final one

Posted on August 11, 2019 Updated on August 11, 2019

News Release

July 22, 2019

Fed up with the lies, fishers vow to have Duterte’s 4^th 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 4^th 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.

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