CLAIM: ‘Majority’ of Filipinos do not care about the West Philippine Sea dispute
RATING: FALSE
An X user claimed without showing any basis that Filipinos do not care about the dispute between China and the Philippines, last Nov. 3. “Yung WPS (West Philippine Sea) issue, walang pakialam ang masa at si Juan Dela Cruz diyan. Malayo yan sa bituka ng karamihan. Mas problema nila ang presyo ng bilihin, krimen, trabaho, at pagkain,” the X user falsely claimed.
The claim is patently untrue given numerous survey findings. For instance, in July 2020, the Social Weather Stations reported that 7 out of 10 Filipinos wanted the Philippine government to assert the country’s rights over the disputed waters, which form part of the Philippines’s exclusive economic zone.
The West Philippine Sea dispute is also connected to the country’s food security.
From 2018 to 2022, WPS output contributed an average of 7.19 percent to overall fisheries production and 10.74 percent to total fish production in the Philippines.
Former Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Director Asis Perez had also said that although the WPS accounts for only one-third of the water area of the Philippines, 12% of the fish supply comes from it.
Fernando Hicap, chair of fisherfolk advocacy group Pamalakaya, told Benar News in 2021 that some 627,000 Filipino fishermen have lost their source of income due to Chinese occupation in the South China Sea in an interview.
Filipino fisherfolk in Zambales were also forced to leave their usual stations in Panatag Shoal due to the Chinese Coast Guard’s incursions. Yvounne Bermudo
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