Fishers to Marcos; end fish importation this year!  

The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) has demanded the Marcos government to end fish importation this year as its warned that the continuous importation will further impact the local production to the disadvantage of the fisheries sector.

According to Pamalakaya national spokesman Ronnel Arambulo “We reassert that importation must end this year and in the coming years. Instead, the government must strengthen local production through subsidy and other livelihood support as well as securing the exclusive rights of Filipino fishers in their fishing grounds and coastal communities,”

He said that In the last five years, the country imported around 190,000 metric tons of fish from Philippine neighbor countries such as China, Vietnam and Taiwan.

The fisherfolk group said this massive importation caused an adverse impact on local production as imported fish further pulled down farm gate prices of the local catch of Filipino fishers.

Arambulo noted that the farm gate price of galunggong (round scad) remains below P120 per kilogram despite an all-time-high retail price of P250 per kilo.

Pamalakaya specifically urged President Marcos, who also served as the agriculture secretary, to repeal importation policies, including the Fisheries Administrative Order 195 and Certificate of Necessity to Import.

“Pres. Marcos is accountable to the continued bankruptcy of our agriculture and fisheries courtesy of his neglect to address the plight of farmers and fishers in the midst of successive natural calamities and inflation,” Arambulo said.

Pamalakaya also presses the call for a P15,000 production subsidy for each of the almost two million registered fisherfolk nationwide.

“This should not be denied to our ailing fishers because this will help boost our local production and ultimately the domestic food security,” Arambulo said.