By CBCP News

MANILA — A Catholic archbishop has urged the Philippine government to defend the country’s maritime rights firmly but peacefully.

Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan said the dispute was not only about sovereignty and international law but also about the welfare of families who depend on the sea.

“In the name of God, I ask the government to be firm and unyielding about what is lawfully ours and rightfully our people’s without provoking hostilities,” Villegas said in a pastoral statement issued Sunday, Oct. 25.

He said many families in Pangasinan and nearby coastal communities rely on the waters for food, income and their children’s future.

Villegas said Filipino fishermen in small boats, known as bancas, face harassment from Chinese vessels that make it difficult or sometimes impossible to work.

“While the People’s Republic of China can send armed vessels and powerful ships through the West Philippine Sea, our humble fishermen can only ride the waves on small and flimsy bancas,” he said.

The archbishop described the dispute as a moral issue involving justice, the protection of poor communities and care for the environment.

“The West Philippine Sea is God’s gift to His people,” Villegas said. “Defending it is taking the side of the people whom God has favored by the gift of the sea.”

He said the waters have sustained communities in Pangasinan and the provinces served by the dioceses of Iba and Alaminos for decades.

Villegas backed efforts to uphold the Philippines’ sovereignty and sovereign rights in maritime areas recognized under international law, urging leaders to consider the impact of tensions on vulnerable families.

“Do not forget the poor,” he said.

📸 Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan. (SCREEN GRAB FROM FATHER SOC/YOUTUBE)