The Department of National Defense said yesterday that there is no substantiated report from military units on the ground confirming Kalayaan, Palawan Mayor Roberto del Mundo’s claim that Chinese vessels have prevented Filipino fishermen from entering sandbars near Pag-asa Island, Palawan.
The DND made the statement a day after Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana directed the Armed Forces of the Philippines to validate the report from Del Mundo on the alleged harassment of Filipino fishermen in the sandbar near Pag-asa Island.
“Based on the initial communication from the AFP Western Command, there has been no substantiated
report from our units on the ground confirming Mayor Del Mundo’s statement,” DND spokesman Director Arsenio Andolong said.
Andolong, however, said the AFP, through the Naval Forces West under the Armed Forces Western Command, will nonetheless continuously validate and report any information relevant to Del Mundo’s claims.
“It has to be noted that the area referred to by Mayor Del Mundo is a traditional fishing ground for the Philippines and other countries, including China and Vietnam,” Andolong said.
“According to WesCom, they have been encouraging fishermen from Pag-asa to continue their activities since it has been observed that they have not been fishing in the vicinity of the sandbar, even before the Chinese fishing vessels were sighted in the area,” he added. (Francis Wakefield)
