A Filipino fisherman clarified that they can still fish freely at Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal and that they are not being driven away by the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG).
Anthony Collado, a fisherman from Zambales, said that the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) is letting them fish outside the area.
‘‘They are not driving us away, Sir, as long as we will not enter, because they will surely block us if we enter,’’ according to Anthony Collado, fisherman in Zambales.
Collado also said they were harassed by Chinese vessels in 2012. When it comes to fishing, Collado said that there’s no difference in fishing inside or outside Bajo de Masinloc, and the only things they fear when sailing are the strong waves especially, when the weather is bad.
‘‘Because if we only [fish] outside [Scarborough Shoal], If the wind blows from the south, then the current is also the same. We don’t have any problem if we’re inside because [the water] is shallow. When it comes to fishing, there’s no problem whether we fish inside or outside [Scarborough Shoal]. But our point is we want to enter [Scarborough Shoal] because we’re safe there. We’ll have no problems even if [the weather goes bad],’’ Collado stated.
Meanwhile, when it comes to the floating barrier allegedly placed there by the CCG, the fisherman said that they had not seen the barrier during their recent visit to the said area.
‘‘When we recently sailed there, sir. We sailed back and forth— twice, sir. The weather was good so we were able to get through,’’ Collado said.
‘‘When did this happen, sir? Did it happen in August?’’
‘‘Yes. We sailed in August. We were able to sail in August for two weeks. Once each week.’’
‘‘The weather had gone bad. I haven’t seen a barrier there, sir. Then the news came out, right? It happened recently. I saw [the news] too but there’s no barrier placed there, sir. There was only a boat and a speed boat, sir,’’ Collado added.
Meanwhile, Callado is hoping that the maritime dispute will be solved, and, his message to the government.
‘‘My message to the government, whatever problem you have in the [West] Philippine Sea, sir, I hope that you can fix it so that small fishermen like us won’t think about getting into accidents, or anything bad, when it comes to [your talks]. I hope that you could solve the issue about Scarborough [Shoal], sir,’’ Collado said.
