Fisherfolk in various parts of the country suffered consecutive losses caused by large-scale US war games. Amid all these, the state provided most of them with no support or compensation, except for limited and meager food aid.

The Balikatan war games prevented at least 6,300 registered fisherfolk from six coastal towns in Zambales (San Antonio, San Narciso, San Felipe, Cabangan, Botolan, and Subic) to go out to sea from April 25 to 27 and May 5 to 6. Authorities enforced a fishing ban while conducting missile launches and a ship-sinking exercise. A separate ban also affected fisherfolk in Cagayan and Aurora during the peak fishing season.

In Zambales, authorities doled out only 10 canned goods, along with a small amount of rice, sugar, instant coffee, and chocolate drink, to fisherfolk in the villages of Pundaquit and San Miguel who were barred from fishing because of the Balikatan war games. Worse, only 226 out of the total 6,300 registered affected fisherfolk benefited from the aid.

Their situation worsened with the arrival of habagat (southwest monsoon), bringing stronger winds and larger sea waves, known as “sigwada.” This weather further limits their ability to go out to sea, causing an already steep decline in their livelihood. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration declared the start of the southwest monsoon on May 30, and it is expected to last until September.

According to the group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), more than 27,000 registered fisherfolk in Zambales and over 30,000 in Cavite alone have already suffered daily income loss because of the southwest monsoon. Many of them have no other source of livelihood and are forced to stop fishing for several weeks or months.

The group urges the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to allocate some of the state’s ₱1-billion calamity fund to help small fisherfolk, but assistance remains slow and inadequate.