'Support, not donations': Group urges DOH to lift Taal fish advisory, provide help
MANILA, Philippines — Days after the Department of Agriculture disclosed that fish products from Taal Lake were, in fact, safe for eating, a peasant group called for the Department of Health to lift its earlier advisory against them.
Former Rep. Ariel Casilao (Anakpawis party-list) in a statement on Tuesday urged the DA and its Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to recompense Taal fishers.
In a bulletin on January 17, the Agriculture department confirmed that the fishery sector was the most affected in the wake of Taal's unrest.
“The Department of Health’s early findings that fish products from the Taal Lake were not safe to eat added further suffering mostly to small fishers dependent on the lakes’ resources," Casilao said.
"Now that the finding of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the DA-DRMM is safe to eat, the DOH should lift its advisory."
Support, not donations
In the statement, he also called for unconditional financial aid for small fishers affected by the eruption's after-effects.
The Anakpawis leader called fisheries as "the main source of income of Taal Lake residents."
Accompanying the DA's pronouncement that fish in the lake was safe to eat were promises that the department was prepared to provide support in the form of millions of assorted fingerlings "[o]nce aquaculture operation resumes and suitable areas are identified."
However, the statement provided no timetable as to when that would be.
State volcanology bureau Phivolcs had said that Taal's unrest could possibly last months. Today, Alert Level 4 is still hoisted over the volcano, which indicates that a volcanic eruption is possible within hours to days.
Both Anakpawis and Pamalakaya have expressed concern over the loss of income continued evacuation would cause. International child welfare organization Save the Children Philippines also cast fear that prolonged displacement for both adult and child evacuees could have serious psychosocial repercussions.
“The government should give premium to food producers affected by the Taal Volcano,” Casilao said.
"It is not enough that the source of aid is coming from the public and the public sector, the Duterte government should exert more effort mostly to poor and marginalized sector affected by the volcanic eruption which includes small fishers, fish pen workers and small farmers."
Premature advisory
The DOH earlier warned consumers not to eat fish from the lake over concerns that the ashfall from Taal Volcano's eruption made them unfit for consumption. But the DA's fisheries bureau was still conducting its tests on both the water and fish while this advisory was made.
Fisherfolks' federation Pamalakaya said this issuance was made prematurely as there was no concrete data at hand yet by the time it was made. As of this writing, the full findings of the report have not yet been publicized on any platform.
Almost immediately after the advisory was made, the fishers group in a statement said that the department should have thoroughly studied the situation first before issuing a comment that could negatively affect both fishermen and consumers.
“We understand the DOH as it only run after the safety of consumers, but since the fish products from Taal Lake were declared safe to consume, the health department should immediately lift its advisory so that Taal Lake fishers can sell their products under the existing market price,” the Davao-based Anakpawis leader said.
Around 112,757 individuals are taking temporary shelter in 416 evacuation centers while some 69,304 individuals are being served outside proper evacuation centers, the latest update from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.
The number of those affected has continued to rise since the initial steam eruption at the volcano's main crater on Sunday, January 12.
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