West Philippine Sea fishermen: Heroes of an unseen struggle

Long before global headlines began tracking tensions in the West Philippine Sea, Mang Dionisio and his family were already navigating those same waters.

- FROM WASHINGTON, D.C. AMBASSADOR B. ROMUALDEZ

For generations, they fished the rich shoals near Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal and the surrounding reefs — small wooden bancas, early-morning departures, nets cast in hopes of a catch to feed their children and keep their homes afloat.

Now in his sixties, Mang Dionisio rises in the wee hours of the morning with two of his adult children and a handful of townsfolk fishermen. They leave under the cover of darkness — “for safety,” they say — and row toward the fishing grounds they have long considered their home. But these days, the return is never guaranteed.

The seas they know, the nets they cast are shadowed by the possibility of being blocked, harassed, intimidated — sometimes worse — being capsized like what happened not too long ago - because on a geopolitical map, theirs is not just a fishing trip: it is a mission of survival in the highly contested waters.

When Mang Dionisio’s boat moves into the grey light of dawn, he knows the hazards: rough waves, bad weather, empty catches. But he also knows another hazard now emerging: foreign maritime forces that sometimes block Filipino fishermen from earning a living.

In recent months and years, multiple reports revealed how boats from the China Coast Guard (CCG) and affiliated civilian or militia-manned vessels have intercepted, blocked or driven away Filipino fishing vessels in the very zones over which the Philippines claims exclusive rights.