Zambales reasserts Bajo de Masinloc claim

MASINLOC, Zambales — The provincial government of Zambales has reiterated its claim over Bajo de Masinloc, or Scarborough Shoal, two days before the 10th anniversary of the 2016 Arbitral Ruling that upheld the Philippines’ sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea.

Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. reasserted this position here on Friday, July 10, during the “Bayanihan sa Karagatan” ceremony that Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodor Jr. also attended as guest of honor. 

“Defending our sovereignty is not a fight for just a few; it needs collective action and a united stand,” Ebdane said, urging residents to help assert Philippine jurisdiction over the contested shoal and surrounding waters.

“Let us always remember, let us keep it in our hearts, and let us shout this to the whole world: Scarborough Shoal is ours,” he added.

Ebdane recalled that as early as March 16, 2011, the Masinloc town council formally declared through a resolution that Bajo de Masinloc is part of the municipality’s territory.

“This only shows that our local government stands firm and won’t ever capitulate in defending the welfare of our constituents,” he said.

Bajo de Masinloc, which is located about 124 nautical miles from Zambales, has long been a traditional fishing ground for fishermen from Zambales and nearby provinces.

Chinese militia boats, however, have shooed away local fishermen from the shoal since 2012— even after the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague issued a ruling on July 12, 2016 that invalidated China’s expansive nine-dash-line claims and reaffirmed the Philippines’ sovereign rights over its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.

Local fishers said their plight worsened in June 2024, when China imposed a “no trespassing” policy at Scarborough and barred fishing within a 40-nautical-mile perimeter around the shoal.

“We fully feel the ordeal you go through,” Ebdane told the fishermen on Friday. “You are the living proof of our rights over these waters, and that is why we won’t ever give us this fight.”

Ebdane said that to ease the socio-economic effects of the Chinese blockade at Scarborough, the provincial government organized fisherfolk cooperatives and assisted them with boats and gears for payao operation, an alternative to fishing in the contested shoal.  

Zambales procured last January two 45-footer fiberglass-hulled auxiliary fishing boats for use by the Zambales Provincial Fishermen’s Association (ZPFA), a federation of 10 fisherfolk groups in the province.

Ebdane said Friday that a 92-foot steel-hulled harvester boat will be delivered within two months to start the ZPFA payao program. As of now, ZPFA members are training on modern boat operation and safety at sea at the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy in San Narciso, Zambales.

Meanwhile, Secretary Teodoro stressed that last Friday’s commemoration was not only about defending the country’s lawful maritime rights and entitlements, but also about strengthening public understanding, national unity, and collective support for protecting the nation’s maritime domain.

He warned that if Filipinos would not call out foreign incursion in the West Philippine Sea, Bajo de Masinloc may fall the way Mischief Reef did, pointing out that the fishermen’s shelters put up there by China in 1995 later became a militarized island.

“This is why we have to make a stand right now,” Teodoro said.

For her part, Masinloc Mayor Hazel Lim said that the lack of an enforcement mechanism for the 2016 Arbitral Ruling makes it more necessary for Filipinos to assert the West Philippine Sea victory.

“The arbitral ruling proves that the law is on our side,” Lim said. “It is important for us to celebrate the ruling which affirmed our rights because these rights cannot be taken away just because some people refuse to acknowledge them.