10 provinces launching action plans in West Philippine Sea

MANILA, Philippines — The 10 provinces covering the entire stretch of the West Philippine Sea will launch this month provincial action plans in support of the national government’s efforts amid tensions in the WPS, according to an official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

DILG Assistant Secretary for international relations Lilian de Leon said that the provinces of Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Batanes, Bataan, Zambales, Batangas, Palawan and Occidental Mindoro have drafted their respective action plans on the WPS.

“The provincial action plans’ roll-out will start this May 2024, for the implementation, operationalization and institutionalization of the agreement during the first-ever National Summit for the West Philippine Sea, which aims to strengthen local leadership and governance and empower communities,” De Leon said.

She said that the action plans of Batanes include the strengthening of maritime security and safety by providing appropriate boats.

For Ilocos Norte, De Leon said the province aims to capacitate fish wardens, deploy Bantay Dagat or volunteer sea patrols, and provide faster sea vessels for patrolling and apprehension.

In Ilocos Sur, the action plans include utilization of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) reserve forces, and to develop strong coordination and cooperation among local government units (LGUs).

On the other hand, La Union wants to reorganize and remobilize the Provincial La Union Baywatch to establish maritime substations along the coast of La Union, and conduct regular joint seaborne patrols and monitoring of municipal waters.

Pangasinan will prioritize addressing illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and maritime pollution.

In Zambales, the provincial government wants delineation of municipal water boundaries to prevent the entry of large commercial fishers.

For the province of Bataan, it intends to report to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources incidents of bullying by Chinese vessels, strengthen its AFP reserve force, and continuously request for fish aggregating devices.

Among the provincial action plans of Batangas is the establishment of mangrove, coral and seagrass protected areas.

Meanwhile, Occidental Mindoro vowed to strictly implement local and national fishery laws.

On the other hand, Palawan eyes regular transportation and accessibility to the island, improved communications, strengthening of its AFP reservists, mobilizing civilian support, increasing the presence of floating assets and warm bodies, and a campaign against bullying of foreign intruders.

De Leon said the provincial action plan was part of the consensus reached during the National Summit for the WPS.

“(Interior) Secretary (Benhur) Abalos felt that what is being done is more on the defense side, which is very important. This (empowering of LGUs and stakeholders) is a soft strategy, strengthening local leadership and governance and empowering communities to address food security, livelihood, preservation and protection of the environment and marine biodiversity,” she said.

De Leon added that more than 500 officials from 115 municipalities and nine cities in the 10 provinces, civil society groups and members of academe attended the summit.