PH revitalizing civilian sea patrol for maritime monitoring

MANILA, Philippines — The government is revitalizing the sea patrol composed of civilian fishers in a bid to bolster the protector of the country’s municipal waters against illegal fishing.

Retired Gen. Andres Centino, chief of the Presidential Office for Maritime Concerns, on Monday said that efforts by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) were underway “only recently” to complete a comprehensive inventory of “Bantay Dagat” (sea patrol) communities while setting operational standards and guidelines. 

Centino noted that these sea wardens are nothing new and have existed since the “late 1970s” but were only formalized in 1994.

Since then, Bantay Dagat volunteers “were hampered with the lack of government support and always faced or confronted with problems between local and national agencies,” according to Centino’s speech in a West Philippine Sea forum organized by think tank Stratbase.

According to BFAR, the tasks of “Bantay Dagat” volunteers include detecting and enforcing measures against illegal fishing within municipal waters extending up to 15 kilometers from shore. 

Fishers as maritime militia a bad idea

While fisherfolk could be employed as sea wardens in parts of the territorial sea, a maritime law expert noted that recruiting them as “part-time soldiers” to counter Chinese maritime militia in the West Philippine Sea is not a good idea.

“It’s not their function as fishermen to be soldiers,” said Jay Batongbacal, maritime law expert, during the forum’s panel discussion. 

Batongbacal also noted that the proposal to match the Chinese maritime militia will be in vain.

“We can never do that, given the amount of resources they give to their militia, the technology they make available, the subsidy that they give, and also the role of the maritime militia — they’re really part-time soldiers — so that is not what our people want; that is not what we expect either,” Batongbacal said.

Beijing’s maritime militia, despite appearing as civilian fishing vessels, is actually a paramilitary force whose main tasks are gathering intelligence and conducting surveillance and even engaging in direct aggressions against vessels in the South China Sea, maritime monitor SeaLight has said.

According to SeaLight, militia ships were based in Hainan Island and has been active in the South China Sea since at least 1974.

Chinese militia ships have been observed swarming a number of features in the West Philippine Sea, which is in line with Beijing’s sweeping claim in the South China Sea that was effectively invalidated by the 2016 international tribunal ruling stemming from a case filed by Manila.

According to Centino, the enactment of the Maritime Zones Act — which establishes the bounds of the nation’s maritime jurisdiction in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 Arbitral Award — highlights the need to enhance the government’s capabilities to monitor, protect, and secure the country’s waters.

Fishers willing to act as monitor 

“It is evident, however, that no matter the extent of government resources, national authorities alone cannot maintain continuous presence across such a vast maritime area,” Centino pointed out. 

Aside from volunteering as a “Bantay Dagat,” Centino also noted that fisherfolk also expressed willingness to help monitor the maritime domain.

“Many affirmed their willingness to cooperate or to help the government by reporting maritime incidents and suspicious activities,” Centino said, citing some 200 fisherfolk who attended the recent “Fish Right” program organized by the United States.

Centino, however, said that the fisherfolk hesitate to file reports of incidents due to fear of retaliation and harassment, and some express uncertainty about a timely, prompt response from authorities.

“We in government have much to do in this regard,” Centino said, which he said includes creating institutional safeguards and sustained engagement with the fishing communities. /das