SEN. Francis Tolentino has filed a resolution urging the appropriate Senate committee to probe the reported cyanide fishing at the Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal by foreign individuals, particularly Chinese fishermen.
In filing Senate Resolution No. 938, Tolentino said an inquiry should be in place to make those responsible accountable for their acts of destroying the natural resources which are located within the Philippine territory.
“It is incumbent upon the Republic of the Philippines to investigate the said allegations not only because the same causes the destruction of our maritime ecosystem but also undermines the territorial integrity of the Philippines,” Tolentino said in the resolution filed last February 22.
Tolentino filed the resolution after the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) reported on February 17 that its recent deployment to Bajo de Masinloc “found the lagoon heavily damaged,” possibly due to cyanide fishing by Chinese and Vietnamese fishermen.
“The use of cyanide or other noxious or poisonous substance is a clear case of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing which undermines the sustainability not only of the marine environment but also the marine ecosystem not only of Philippines’ waters, but globally,” Tolentino said.
He said such acts are punishable under RA 11479 or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, since the use of poison is illegal.
“However, this is not the first time that China has been reported to be engaged in activities that are destructive to the rich ecosystem in the West Philippine Sea. In fact, as early as 2019, Dr. Florence Onda from the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute estimated that the Philippines is ‘losing about P33.1 billion annually from the damaged reef ecosystem at Panatag Shoal and the Spratly Islands mainly due to China’s reclamation activities and illegal fishing operations,” Tolentino said.
The BFAR has said it has received reports from local fishermen that China was deliberately harming Bajo de Masinloc to prevent Philippine vessels from accessing the area, an allegation that has been denied by Beijing.
Tolentino said the Permanent Court of Arbitration also found that China’s large scale land reclamation and construction of artificial islands at seven features in the Spratly Islands has led to severe harm to coral reef environment, and that China violated the provisions of the convention to preserve and protect the marine environment.
“The recent research conducted by the Center for Strategic International Studies on the Environmental Threats to the South China Sea noted that China has cause the most reef destruction through dredging and land fill, burying roughly 4,648 acres of reefs, and that approximately 16,535 acres of reef have been damaged by Chinese giant clam harvesting,” he added.
BFAR spokesperson Nazario Briguera said the government is still verifying reports of alleged cyanide fishing in the Scarborough Shoal.
He said current investigations are not yet conclusive to decide whether cyanide fishing or other methods of destructive fishing was conducted in areas at the WPS.
He said BFAR has organized a team from its legal department to gather affidavits from fishermen who have supposedly witnessed the cyanide fishing practiced by foreign fishermen.
Briguera added that they will also form a pool of technical experts on marine habitat assessment. — With Jed Macapagal
