Joint exploration on the rough seas

The fishing boat is every bit Filipino — the outrigger is made of bamboo, the rope used on the gunwale is made of Manila hemp or abaca, and the materials used for the hull are most certainly locally made too. The pale blue rosary hanging by the window in the vessel’s cockpit also speaks of the unwavering Pinoy faith.

She must have been a beauty, this white and light blue vessel — standing out in the vast sea of blue, sailing across the rough seas in all its glory, and as resilient as a bamboo tree.

But now the incident has left the boat in total disarray, with a huge gaping hole in the cross section of its hull. It is now disabled, destroyed, tilted by the edge and no longer able to stand on its own. 

Slabs of wood stick out in all directions and remnants of trash from the deep blue sea are scattered all over the vessel.

Welcome to Fishing Boat Gem Ver 1 or whatever’s left of it. This might well be the perfect metaphor to what we’ve become as a country after this incident — cold, empty, damaged and now just a hodgepodge of destroyed materials.

Yes, this boat is just like us. Didn’t we, once upon a time, use to be so proud of being truly Filipino? Didn’t we use to stand so tall and brave against military tanks, gun-wielding soldiers and despots? 

And yet now we are in total disarray and unable to make a really clear stand as a country over what happened.

Our officials condemned the incident, only to tone down their remarks days after. 

We were quick to denounce trash from Canada, only to cower under the veil of diplomacy when it had to do with 22 lives. 

Trash — piles and piles of garbage — it seems is so much more important than the lives of 22 Filipino fishermen.

It’s a shame that this is happening. It’s a shame we are now doubting the testimonies of the men who could have lost their lives. It’s a shame we are now downplaying one of the biggest maritime disasters in our seas in recent years. 

It’s a shame we could not stand up for 22 of our own. 

Joint exploration

This incident is no doubt a test on our will as a country and as a people to fight for our sovereignty. There is so much at stake. 

Is this a portent of things to come? My fear is what could happen when we finally have a joint oil and gas exploration agreement with China.

Will we be put at a disadvantage? Will we really be able to jointly explore the disputed seas? Or will our exploration teams find themselves in maritime accidents and be left for dead?

Beijing and Manila signed a memorandum of understanding during President Xi Jinping’s visit last year. Both parties have one year to work on the details or until November this year. 

I reiterate that we should only agree to an arrangement that would protect the country’s sovereign rights. We should agree to an agreement where we can explore and harness the natural resources in the area while protecting our sovereign rights. 

Malampaya is thinning out

This is important especially now that the Malampaya natural gas, which supplies 70 percent of Luzon’s power requirements, is thinning out. 

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi has promised that he would insist on a joint oil and gas framework that would uphold the Philippine Constitution and our sovereign rights. 

This I’d like to see.

I hope it will be better than the Malampaya agreement and there would indeed be no waiver of our sovereign rights under the arbitral ruling, which invalidated Beijing’s claim to most of the South China Sea. 

I really hope we get a good arrangement, one that also protects our exploration teams. 

Neighbors

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said China would continue to investigate the matter. 

“We are ready to enhance communication with the Philippine side on the investigation, increase understanding, dispel mistrust and find out what actually happened. In the spirit of cooperation and friendship, we believe this incident will be handled properly based on fact.”

Lessons 

For the fishermen, the story is the same. The June 9 incident, they said, was a deliberate move on the part of the Chinese vessel and it teaches us many lessons. For one, we’ve seen what can happen in rough seas; we’ve seen who will help fellow human beings in a sinking boat and who will not; and we’ve seen who will and will not stand up for us when the going gets tough. 

Now that we’ve seen what happened, the most important lesson is this. That now more than ever, it is important to be on the right side of history, to stand up for our fellows and to be on the side of the Philippines and Filipinos  -— our very own. 

Iris Gonzales’ email address is [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Iris Gonzales [email protected]