Volunteers of the civilian-led initiative Atin Ito have arrived in El Nido, Palawan aboard the training ship M/V Kapitan Felix Oca, ahead of their departure for Pagasa Island in the West Philippine Sea for a mission on Tuesday, May 27. They will be sent off on Monday, May 26, with the first-ever Concert at Sea for Peace.
Among the musicians slated to appear are singers Ebe Dencel and Noel Cabangon, rock band Rouge, boom-bap collective Morobeats, and South Korea-based Filipino boy group HORI7ON. K-Pop girl group I:MOND, Japanese artist FuMi, Malaysian singer Viona, and Indonesian singer Kai Mata will also perform at the concert.
The concert is part of Atin Ito’s third resupply mission for Filipino troops stationed in the Spratly Islands. It will be livestreamed on their website. Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela said on Thursday, May 22, that the government will also send vessels to join the convoy and ensure the safety of the volunteers.
The coalition’s two previous missions were in December 2023 and May 2024. On their first mission, only a small vessel carrying supplies made it to Lawak or Nanshan Island after four Chinese vessels reportedly tailed the larger M/V Kapitan Felix Oca, which aborted its mission. On the second mission, two China Coast Guard vessels blocked Atin Ito’s five-vessel convoy on the way to Scarborough Shoal.
“The Concert at Sea for Peace will serve as a platform for artists, musicians, and fisherfolk from various claimant countries to come together and promote peace, cultural exchange, and regional solidarity through music and the arts,” Atin Ito said on Facebook.
Atin Ito was launched in October 2023 and includes members of the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM), Pambansang Katipunan ng mga Samahan sa Kanayunan (PKSK), Center for Agrarian Reform for Empowerment and Transformation (CARET), Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (Pakisama), and the Akbayan party.
