Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Wednesday ordered the military to validate a report of Kalayaan Mayor Roberto del Mundo who claimed that Filipino fishermen were being harassed by the Chinese in a sandbar near Pag-asa Island, the largest Philippine-occupied feature in the Kalayaan Island Group. “Based on the initial communication from the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] Western Command, there has been no substantiated report from our units on the ground confirming Mayor Del Mundo’s statement,” Defense Department spokesman Arsenio Andolong said in a statement Wednesday. Del Mundo on Tuesday claimed that around 50 Chinese vessels were allegedly sailing near Pag-asa Island and intimidating Filipino fishermen.

PH verifying ‘harassment’ in WPS. (2019, March 7). Manila Standard, p. A2.