The “boro,” as Filipino fishermen call it, is back. And hundreds of them have happily returned to their old, rich fishing grounds, coming home with their outrigger boats groaning with the weight of their bountiful catch. “Boro” is what the subsistence fishermen from Bataan to Ilocos call Scarborough Shoal, also known by its local names of Bajo de Masinloc and Panatag. This is the outcrop of rock surrounding a shallow lagoon more than 200 kilometers from the coast of Luzon to the west, where all manner of fish spawn, live and easily get caught. The return of Filipino fishermen to Scarborough also signals the thawing of our frozen relations with the Chinese. And the best part is, there isn’t even any bilateral agreement that covers the return of the fishermen; the Chinese just left the “boro” after President Rodrigo Duterte visited Beijing, the fishermen simply returned without fear of being caught in the steel nets at the mouth of the lagoon or attacks by water cannon mounted on Chinese ships.

Robles, J. A. (2016, November 1). Back to the 'boro'. Manila Standard, pp. A4, A5.