Fishermen shooed away from Panatag Shoal
INFANTA— Some 80 fishermen from Pangasinan and Zambales on board 15 bancas were chased away with water cannons by China’s Coast Guard as the order “Go, go, go, no fishing” blared from the ship.
These are the words that reverberate in the mind of Efren Montehermoso Jr, 20, from Barangay Cato this town who were among the group of 80 Filipino fishermen driven away by Chinese coast guards on board a huge ship.
Montehermoso was able to take an eight-minute video of the Chinese ship shooting them with water cannon with his smartphone in afternoon of April 13.
“It (water cannon) was very strong, stronger than the water that comes out from a fire truck and if it hits you, it could destroy your banca,” he said in Filipino.
He said he and his eight other cousins on board a motorized banca were frightened by the determination of the ship to drive them away particularly when one banca was destroyed by the water cannon.
Montehermoso said the Chinese coast guard kept shouting through a loud speaker ordering them to leave and to stop fishing and began shooting its water cannon in their direction.
“They were many, they wearing uniforms but we did not see if they had firearms while driving us away,” he said.
The fisherman whose banca was destroyed was rescued by his companions.
Montehermoso said they were about 20 meters away from the Chinese ship that followed them out of the area for an hour.
Montehermoso explained that they went to the area not to fish but just to seek temporary shelter due to big waves and strong wind at the time. He said they were out fishing since April 8 and said it was his first time to experience such intimidation and threat.
He said he would never dare return to that area anymore but Montehermoso said he has to continue fishing since it is the only livelihood available to them because government does not support them with an alternative livelihood.
Cato is about 147 nautical miles away from the controversial Panatag Shoal. (Tita Roces)
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