Fisherfolk group presses CHR to act on mounting harassment in Navotas

By Pajo Albano
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) has called on the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to investigate what it describes as a sustained campaign of surveillance and intimidation by state security forces against its members in Navotas.

The group submitted a formal letter to CHR Chairperson Richard Palpalal-latoc requesting an “immediate on-site investigation” into a series of alleged harassment incidents involving the Philippine National Police-Navotas and the Armed Forces’ National Capital Region Command (NCRCOM).

Pamalakaya, said these acts have intensified in the context of the local chapter’s ongoing campaign against a 650-hectare reclamation project that has destroyed hundreds of fishing structures and displaced over 1,000 fisherfolk and mussel farm operators. 

“The harassment, which includes constant profiling from the police and the NCRCOM, occurs amid our local chapter’s campaign versus the destructive reclamation project in the city,” the group wrote in its complaint.

The letter, signed by Pamalakaya National Chairperson Fernando Hicap, cited three major incidents that took place from June 2024 to July 2025.

In June 2024, three men in civilian clothing who identified themselves as coming from “Camp Crame” visited the home of a Pamalakaya-Navotas member in Barangay Sipac-Almacen. The men allegedly encouraged him to withdraw from the organization and help form a new group, with the goal of persuading others to do the same. 

The group said the operation was later revealed to be backed by NCRCOM personnel who were directing the newly formed group through their former member.

On July 16, 2024, men in plainclothes were seen taking photographs of participants at a benefit concert in Barangay San Jose.

This event occurred during heightened police presence in the area, including checkpoint operations by the San Jose Municipal Police Station, conducted as part of an anti-criminality campaign and what police called “human rights policing.”

The following day, the same individuals returned in uniform and warned residents not to associate with Pamalakaya, claiming it was a “rebel group.”

From May and July 2025, Pamalakaya said members of NCRCOM were seen conducting unauthorized interviews in Sipac-Almacen, asking about the names, addresses, and whereabouts of specific members.

“These incidents are not only alarming for the safety and security of our fisherfolk members, but also undermines our group’s efforts to conserve our marine environment and fishing resources,” the letter stated.

The organization maintained that “no uniformed personnel have business with our members, organizers, and our organization’s legitimate activities.”

The group views the harassment as part of a broader pattern of suppression targeting coastal resistance to reclamation across Manila Bay.

Pamalakaya is also a petitioner in a case pending before the Supreme Court that seeks to suspend reclamation projects and investigate their environmental and human impact.

While Ferdinand Marcos Jr. previously announced a moratorium on reclamation in Manila Bay, Pamalakaya criticized the absence of a formal executive order and continues to demand a permanent ban. 

As of press time, the CHR has not issued a public response to the group’s complaint.

Still, Pamalakaya said it remains steadfast in its advocacy, despite growing risks to its members and communities.

“We trust in the CHR’s commitment to promoting and defending human rights, particularly in situations where vulnerable sectors are at risk of exploitation and injustice,” the group said. (AMU, RVO)

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