Atin Ito: Sea concert a 'love song' to WPS, its defenders

Before voyaging to Pag-Asa Island for their third civilian mission, Atin Ito convenor Rafaela David on Monday said that the sea concert that they will hold would serve as their “love song” to the West Philippine Sea and the people who protect it against all odds.

In a press conference in Palawan, David said that artists coming from different countries who will be performing in the concert want to show that they altogether want peace and solidarity in the region.

“This is our way of showing that our mission to make sure that a people powered campaign, activity is our way of showing aggressors in the West Philippine Sea that we are standing up to what they’re doing,” she said.

“At the same time, this is our way to show, highlight, and amplify the voices of those who are most affected—from the fisherfolks to frontliners who are bearing the brunt of what China is doing in our own seas,” she added.

David also emphasized that they want to tell the world that their commitment to the West Philippine Sea is “not through militarizing or war-mongering but in compassion, community, and culture.”

“What we want to do is to build bridges, using the language of music. Our nations may be far apart but we know that we are connected by the music that we share—music of peace, music of solidarity,” she explained.

According to David, a concert will be held at sunset on Monday, and they are planning to also conduct a second concert on Wednesday morning as they welcome a “new dawn.”

Among the performers expected to participate in the third Atin Ito civilian mission are Ebe Dancel, all-women rock band Rouge, rap collective Morobeats, and P-pop group HORI7ON, Japanese artist Fumi, Indonesian and Malaysian musicians Viona and Kai Mata, as well as South Korean K-pop girl group I:Mond.

Aside from musicians, the third Atin Ito civilian mission will also include artists, fisherfolk, and civil society leaders from the Philippines and neighboring countries to promote peace, dialogue, and cultural exchange.

For Kiko Aquino Dee of the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation (NCAF), the West Philippine Sea is more than a geopolitical flashpoint, but “a cradle of life, livelihood, and liberty for thousands of Filipinos.”

“By mobilizing people power at sea, we are continuing the legacy of active citizenship. We are sending a message to the world—the Filipino people will always stand up, peacefully but resolutely, for what is rightfully ours,” Dee said.

Volunteers from the Atin Ito Coalition boarded on Sunday M/V Kapitan Felix Oca which would sail to the West Philippine Sea for a third civilian mission.

Atin Ito's first civilian mission was held in December 2023, when its Christmas convoy slipped past Chinese vessels and arrived at Lawak Island, part of the Kalayaan Island Group of Palawan, to deliver gifts to Filipino soldiers patrolling the area.

The group was supposed to go to Ayungin Shoal where the BRP Sierra Madre has been intentionally grounded, but Atin Ito altered the convoy's route after China Coast Guard used its water cannon against Philippine vessels on a routine resupply and rotation mission to the dilapidated ship.

In May 2024, Atin Ito conducted its second civilian mission to WPS, reaching Bajo de Masinloc, also known as the Scarborough Shoal, despite a blockade of Chinese vessels to deliver provisions to Filipino fishermen in the area.

Formed in 2023, Atin Ito is a coalition composed of groups such as the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM), Akbayan Party, PAKISAMA, the New Masinloc Fishermen Association, PKSK, Akbayan Youth, and the Student Council Alliance of the Philippines (SCAP), among others. —KG/RSJ, GMA Integrated News