“Former president Rodrigo Duterte says Filipino fishermen can still catch fish within the West Philippine Sea after he pleaded to Chinese President Xi Jinping to allow them to do so.”
What Vera Files found
Filipino fishermen who have tried fishing on Scarborough Shoal 122 nautical miles off Zambales said they could not enter the shoal because Chinese coast guard vessels have taken control of the area. News reports have also shown the Chinese coast guard bullying and driving away Filipino fishermen getting near Scarborough and Ayungin Shoals and other parts of the West Philippine Sea.
Their words, from the summary they publish with the rating.
In short
Rodrigo Duterte made this claim around 10 October 2023. Vera Files (Philippines) looked into it and published its finding on 28 October 2023, 18 days later. Its rating was “Needs context”.
Rodrigo Duterte has 126 checked claims in this archive. Fact-checking organisations rated 46 of them false or fake, 78 misleading or mixed and 0 true.
This check was done by Vera Files, not by DoesItStand. We list it so you can find it. Their full evidence and reasoning are in their article.