i. Ending the Isolation of Fishers is a Shared Responsibility During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, nearly 30 Filipino fishers found themselves stranded along the coast of China and could not return home. The fishers were employed by a Taiwanese agency and sent to work on Chinese-flagged vessels. The group found themselves adrift at sea with no port access. Some managed to send distress signals through weak WiFi signals at ports and shared videos online that depicted their dire circumstances: they relied on rainwater for drinking water, a quickly dwindling stockpile of food, and lacked access to medical assistance for those who fell ill. “Imagine if this situation had continued; they would have starved to death without outside intervention,” said Father Guntur. “I attempted to seek help from Taiwan’s Fisheries Agency, but unfortunately, they claimed they lacked the authority to intervene since the vessel was Chinese-flagged.” Eventually, the Philippines’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs intervened and facilitated their repatriation—though many fishers were left unpaid, and the Taiwanese agency responsible faced no repercussions. Another incident that left a lasting impression on Father Guntur was also during the pandemic. A Filipino fisher he knew could not return home due to border restrictions; he was forced to remain at sea for six additional months. The man regrettably missed the final days of a close family member. This prolonged isolation eventually drove him into severe depression and a mental breakdown. “My role was to try to offer him comfort, but the situation had already reached a dire point by then,” Father Guntur recounted with a heavy heart. The first word that springs to Father Guntur’s mind when the topic of migrant fishers’ rights comes up is “isolation.” “Once fishers leave port, you’ll see their Facebook statuses go offline, meaning they’re about to face isolation for six or eight months—sometimes even years. While new regulations now prevent vessels from remaining at sea for over ten months, 10