00:00Despite the increasing presence of China's ships in the West Philippine Sea,
00:04BFAR has once again asked for help from those who are worried about their safety there.
00:08Ryan Nesigue is at the center of the news.
00:13It's 6 a.m. this April 20, when the BRP arrived in Pagbuwaya, Recto Bank, in the West Philippine Sea.
00:19For two days, ships from Orion Bataan for resupply and Maritime Patrol in Reed Bank were stranded.
00:25Unlike the last mission,
00:27the People's Liberation Army Navy of China did not show up.
00:31The Chinese Coast Guard also did not show up in Paglalayag.
00:34But inside Recto Bank,
00:37the Chinese militia vessel is growing.
00:40Despite this,
00:41BFAR members did not waste time and immediately distributed their crew.
00:47Fishermen from Cebu, Bohol, and Mindoro were given a ton of gasoline.
00:54Maybe to the faces of the fishermen,
00:56the joy is because of the gift and presence of the Philippine ship.
01:01But if the problem with the expensive crude oil was solved by BFAR,
01:05the fishermen do not know how they can solve the problem in the smallest catch in the area.
01:13One of their regrets is the several years of the Chinese militia vessel's stay in Recto Bank.
01:19According to the fisherman Lito,
01:21they used to catch fish immediately,
01:24but now they need to spend more time in the sea to be sure that they can sell fish.
01:35If they are not here, we cannot reach them.
01:40No one can stop us.
01:42The Chinese Coast Guard said,
01:45Even in Sabina, they will stop us.
01:48Near Palawan, they are blocking us.
01:55There are a lot of ships in Sabina.
01:59There are about 30 ships.
02:03They also said that their small boat is not good compared to what a big Chinese ship can do.
02:10We cannot do anything.
02:12We cannot do anything.
02:13Their ships are made of steel.
02:16They are big.
02:17They are made of wood.
02:18It is hard for us to catch them.
02:20It is hard for us to defend ourselves.
02:23They are made of wood.
02:25They are made of steel.
02:26If we hit them, they will sink.
02:28They are made of steel.
02:30It is not easy.
02:32It is a pity if we force them.
02:35Lito has a request for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
02:39My request is that the West Filipinos should take action
02:45so that the Chinese can leave.
02:50If they do not leave, it will be hard for the fishermen here in the Philippines.
02:57While other fishermen are forced to make friends with the Chinese militia
03:03so that they cannot escape.
03:05If we do not have food and cigarettes, we will go to them.
03:10We will ask them for money.
03:14Aside from the resupply mission,
03:16one of the reasons why BIFAR went to Recto Bank
03:19is to examine the sandbar behind me
03:22that is being used by the Filipino fishermen.
03:26They want to know if the sandbar and corals here are natural or not.
03:33At the same time of the eruption of April 21,
03:36the China Coast Guard spotted a boat number 4202.
03:40The CCG went around the area where the BIFAR boat is anchored.
03:46But because a small portion of the BIFAR is there,
03:49it only went down the reef to get closer
03:52and it will sink the Filipino fishing boats and BIFAR.
03:56The BIFAR also captured the sandbar of the CCG in the Chinese militia vessel.
04:02Only a few Chinese militia vessels of China remain here in Recto Bank.
04:08But despite their presence,
04:10the Filipino fishermen are still fishing here in this area.
04:15The next day of Monday,
04:17BIFAR made a maritime patrol in this area.
04:23Their target is to find the two fish aggregating devices or payaw
04:27that were placed by the Filipino fishermen.
04:30Ten payaw were placed in Recto Bank.
04:33But the fishermen said that they only saw six.
04:37It is not confirmed if these were watched or cut on purpose.
04:42The fishermen from Quezon, Palawan placed these payaw here in Recto Bank.
04:47And according to them, this payaw is a big fish
04:50so that they can catch more fish here in this area.
04:53Despite the presence of Chinese ships in the territory of the Philippines,
04:58BIFAR assured that they will not tire of watching and monitoring
05:02the Filipino fishermen who are fighting day by day against foreign invaders.
05:07Ryan Lizigas for Pambansang TV in the new Philippines.
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