Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA)-Navotas members bravely confronted an individual who introduced himself as Miguel Richard Gerardo Castro, who claimed to be a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources employee.
On August 31, a member posed to “provide information” about the organization and met Castro at an eatery. During the meeting, the fisherfolk collectively and bravely confronted Castro, who immediately fled. Members followed him running into the Navotas police station. When members confronted Castro again inside the station, police immediately prohibited them from recording and told them that video recording was supposedly illegal. The entire incident was captured on video.
Prior to the incident, Castro had repeatedly tried to convince leaders and members of the PAMALAKAYA Navotas chapter to provide information about the organization and its activities in exchange for “financial assistance.”
According to the group, this surveillance links to previous reports of harassment, intimidation, and red-tagging carried out by persons claiming to be police and soldiers under the NCR Command or Joint Task Force-NCR of the Armed Forces of the Philippines against their members.
The group strongly condemned this new case of harassment against fisherfolk fighting for their livelihood and rights.
“We call on BFAR to immediately hold the individual accountable if he is indeed their employee, and if not, strongly denounce the use of the agency’s name. We also urge the Commission on Human Rights to expedite the investigation we requested into the continuing human rights violations, harassment, and red-tagging against the fisherfolk communities in Navotas,” the group stated.
