Members of Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA, or National Strength of the Fisherfolk Movement in the Philippines)-Bacoor and Barangay Talaba II residents protested on May 4 to denounce the Cavite local government’s plan to demolish more than 100 houses in the said barangay.

Residents said they received a verbal notice on April 30 that their area would be demolished and that they had only two days to leave. Local government personnel did not show any document.

The community lies on a 420-hectare reclamation project linked to Frabelle Fishing Corporation, a company owned by current Department of Agriculture secretary Francis Tiu-Laurel Jr.

“Relocating fisherfolk from the coast to a place far from the sea and without livelihood is unjust. Forcing our eviction from the community amid a crisis is saddening,” PAMALAKAYA-Bacoor member Arni Villalon said.

The group demanded halting the demolition in line with a still effective 2023 suspension on reclamation projects in Manila Bay. It added that many fishers are still forced to return to Bacoor due to lack of livelihood despite the local government-provided relocation site in Naic, Cavite.

PAMALAKAYA calls on the Cavite local government to respect the rights of fisherfolk and stop the demolition until their grievances are addressed.