Villanueva calls on gov’t to resume resupply mission to grounded Marines in Ayungin Shoal
The government should be able to resupply soldiers manning a grounded Navy ship in Ayungin Shoal because failure to do so would send a chilling effect to Filipino fishermen in Philippine waters now claimed by a foreign nation.
This was pointed out by Senator Joel Villanueva in backing the Defense department’s plan to dispatch supply ships to the BRP Sierra Madre weeks after a similar expedition was thwarted off by water cannons of Chinese gunboats.
“This is being watched by our fishermen in which the West Philippine Sea has been a traditional fishing area,” Villanueva said. “Kung barko at sundalo nga po ng ating Republika ay hinaharang, paano pa po kaya ang ating mga mangingisda na naka-bangka lang?”
This will cost a lot of fishing jobs and food on the table, he added.
“Kung barko at sundalo nga po ng ating Republika ay hinaharang, paano pa po kaya ang ating mga mangingisda na naka-bangka lang?”
Villanueva said those who will resupply the Marines stationed in the scuttled World War II vintage ship should just ignore the scare tactics of the “great wall of ships” blockading the shoal.
“Kung hindi po makakarating ang pagkain sa mga sundalo natin sa BRP Sierra Madre, hindi lang sila ang magugutom. Tiyak po tayo na pati ang ating mga mangingisda ay mangangamba na maging biktima ng panggigipit ng Chinese coast guard.
But Villanueva believes that the assurance given to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana by the Chinese ambassador to Manila of non-interference to the supply run “will be observed because doing otherwise is a bully move that will be condemned universally.”
“If you let the soldiers aboard the ship die of hunger, then the optics will be very bad. Hindi po maganda tingnan para sa isang bansa na merong charm offensive sa buong mundo,” he said.