The Philippine government should continue to work to ensure that Filipino fisherfolk would have unhindered access to Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, according to a maritime law expert. “Negotiation should be for them to stop harassing/interfering with our fishing vessels. Our fishermen should be free to go in and out as needed,” Jay Batongbacal of the University of the Philippines’ Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea told the Inquirer.
