President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stood firm on Friday that the Philippines is leaning away from any form of conflict on issues hounding the West Philippine Sea but stressed that the government has to stand firm on its defense to protect the welfare of the fishermen and the country’s territorial rights.

“Umiiwas tayo sa mga gulo. Umiiwas tayo sa maiinit na salita. Ngunit mas matibay ang ating pagdepensa sa teritoryo ng Pilipinas,” Marcos said in an interview at the sidelines of the rice distribution event held in Dapa, Surigao del Norte.

Marcos made the remarks when asked about his recent directive to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to remove the floating barriers in Scarborough Shoal that were apparently set up by the China Coast Guard (CCG) to stop Filipino fishermen.

The chief executive said there is nothing else that could be done for the floating barriers, which blocked Filipino fishermen from productive fishing in the territory as he said the fishermen were able to harvest tons of fish when the barriers were removed.

The President said the fishermen were able to catch around 164 tons of fish on the day that the PCG had removed the floating barriers.

“’Yun ang nawawala sa ating mga fisherman. Hindi naman maaari na lalagyan ng barrier na ganoon at maliwanag na nasa loob ng Pilipinas ‘yan. Basta’t hindi tayo naghahanap ng gulo,” Marcos said.

“Basta gagawin natin, patuloy natin ipagtatanggol ang Pilipinas, ang maritime territory ng Pilipinas, ang karapatan ng mga fisherman natin na mangisda doon sa mga areas kung saan na sila nangingisda daan-daang tao na kaya’t hindi ko maintindihan ba’t nagbago ng ganito,” he added.

Marcos reiterated that the Philippine government will not stop protecting the welfare of Filipino fishermen and fighting for its territorial rights on the West Philippine Sea not by force, but by legal remedies through diplomatic process. Presidential News Desk