Fisherfolk group seeks government subsidy for livelihood

MANILA, Philippines — Fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) is urging government to provide livelihood subsidies and support following the decline in fisheries output in the second quarter.

The two consecutive quarters of decline in fisheries and agriculture production should raise  alarm bells for President Marcos, who also heads the Department of Agriculture.

“Not only does a low fisheries output reflect the hardships of our fishing sector, but it adversely affects the local food security. Marcos should heed the call of our rural sectors to strengthen the local food production in a form of direct livelihood subsidy and other forms of state support,” Pamalakaya national chairperson Fernando Hicap said in a statement.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the fisheries output declined by 2.3 percent in the second quarter from year-ago levels.

This comes after the 5.8 percent contraction registered in the first quarter.

In the first semester, the fisheries production slipped by 3.9 percent.

In spite of consecutive rollbacks on oil prices, Pamalakaya said small fishers are still having a hard time recovering from their huge losses due to the cumulative oil price increases this year.

“The decline in fish production reflects the plight of fishermen. Despite the successive drop in the price of oil, many fishermen, if not forced to stop, have reduced their fishing time because the price of petroleum is still unaffordable. This has a big impact on the fall in the productivity of fisheries in the country,” Hicap said.

Even with the oil price rollbacks in the previous weeks, Pamalakaya said that a small fisherfolk who regularly consumes 10 liters of diesel  still has  to prepare P11,200 per month for 16 fishing trips with diesel prices still at around P70 per liter.

This is a P3,200 increase in a small-scale fishing operation from last year’s P8,000 per month, the group said.

Although the recorded low fisheries output was from the previous administration, Pamalakaya said  the response of the Marcos administration to the agri-fisheries production woes is still “insufficient.”

“Production costs are still high while the income of both farmers and fishermen is falling. With an estimated P11,200 monthly expenses of a fisherman on oil alone, his monthly income from fishing is only P4,800 to P8,000. This is due to the short time mid-sea, few caught fish, and low farm gate price,” Hicap said.

Agricultural groups earlier  urged the President to prioritize food production subsidies over farm-to-market road projects and certify as urgent bills supporting cash aid so farmers and fisherfolk can have the means to mitigate the impact of rising costs affecting productivity in the sector.

Currently filed at the 19th Congress is House Bill 406 or An Act Providing for a P15,000 production subsidy for farmers and fisherfolk affected by increasing cost of farm inputs, rising fuel prices, economic downturn, and calamities amid the COVID-19 pandemic.