The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya)-Panay condemned the 3rd ID soldiers for their constant harassment of the fisherfolk belonging to the Asosasyon sang Magagmay nga Mangingisda sa Santiago (AMMS) in Barangay Santiago, Barotac Viejo, Iloilo on August 18.

Pamalakaya-Panay said the 3rd Civil-Military Operations Battalion of the 3rd ID entered and conducted operations in Sitio Dalusan that day. “The military took the names of AMMS members and officials and its papers,” the group said. The soldiers also summoned the members of the association to the barangay hall to collect these data.

Anakbayan-Panay condemned the militarization of communities and rural areas. “Our fisherfolk clamor for aid and subsidy due to the effect of the monsoon and the recent ‘close season’… but the government responds with militarization,” it said.

The fisherfolk sector is one of the poorest in the country. Fisherfolks face falling catches due to the exorbitant cost of fishing due to inflation, exacerbated by the lack of government support. Their suffering is further aggravated by the state’s incompetence in preparing for disasters.

The Marcos regime’s neglect of the fisherfolk sector is reflected in its budget proposal for 2025. It allocated a meager ₱50 million in fuel subsidies for fisherfolk benefitting only 16,000 fisherfolk (only 0.6% of the more than 2.7 million registered fisherfolk in the country).

“The continued decline in fish production reflects the hardship suffered by fisherfolk, and our greater need for concrete and regular support from the government,” Pamalakaya-Pilipinas vice chairperson and Makabayan senatorial candidate Ronnel Arambulo said.