Bulatlat News
By ALELI MADRIGAL
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — “The Philippines is rich in water and aquatic resources and yet our fishermen still remain poor,” said National Spokesperson Ronnel Arambulo of Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (National Federation of Small Fisherfolk Organizations in the Philippines or PAMALAKAYA).
Even after waking up before dawn or persisting to catch fish despite the bad weather, these efforts are still not enough for the local fishermen to alleviate their lives from poverty.
According to the 2021 poverty statistics released by the Philippine Statistics Authority last March, the fishing sector remains to have the highest poverty rate at 30.6 percent followed by farmers and children. Up by 4.4 percent of poverty incidence from 2018, fisherfolk has the largest percentage increase compared to other basic sectors.
Large corporations are among those that perpetuate the struggles of Filipino fisherfolk. With the big boats that enable them to do overfishing, small-scale fishermen are being robbed of their spaces in the waters, reducing their catch significantly.
Arambulo said that Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.’s Frabelle Fishing Corporation is one of the major companies in the Philippines that holds a large portion of fish production in the country. With 117 commercial fishing vessels, it is the largest tuna and sardine fishing company in Asia.
Laurel is also the president of Bacoor Waterfront Corporation and Diamond Export Corporation which hold interests in the different reclamation projects in the country. Laurel is also a proponent of the 420-hectare reclamation project in Bacoor, Cavite that displaced more than 700 fishing families in two coastal villages.
A few weeks ago, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced the handing over of the agricultural chief position to his top campaign donor, Laurel, this, after Marcos Jr. held the position for 17 months.
“We can’t help but be extra cautious with the new agriculture chief knowing his background as the owner of one of the country’s biggest fishing corporations, operating more than a hundred large-scale commercial fishing fleets,” said PAMALAKAYA in a separate statement. “We will definitely keep an eye on Agriculture Secretary Tiu-Laurel Jr., and will not allow to use his crucial post to advance (his) business agenda, instead of the needed public service. The agri-fisheries industry is ailing, with our farmers and fishers being the country’s poorest sectors.”
Aside from commercial corporations, destructive reclamation projects, conversions, and black sand mining affect the lives not only of fishermen but also other residents in those areas.
Today, the largest reclamation project in the country is that of the New Manila International Airport in Bulacan owned by Ramon Ang’s San Miguel Corporation (SMC). Since the beginning of its construction, several families and fishers from seven affected communities in Taliptip, Bulacan have been displaced.
Arambulo also emphasized the struggle of the fisherfolk community on the tension in the West Philippine Sea where China claims 90 percent of the South China Sea despite the fact that 80 percent of it belongs to the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, including Scarborough Shoal and seven islands of the Spratly Islands. As of this writing, fishers in the area still face harassment from large Chinese shipping vessels.
During the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting (APEC 2023) in San Francisco, California last Nov. 17, Marcos Jr. said he would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss measures to de-escalate tensions in the West Philippine Sea.
The role of the fisherfolk is important in assuring food security in the country, and so Arambulo said that the needs of the fishermen must be given priority.
“Because of the abundance of fish, we can make enough catch for every Filipino, but this will only happen if genuine reform is made in our fishponds and waters and if we prioritize rehabilitation instead of reclamation,” Arambulo said, adding, “Rehabilitation through mangrove reforestation that helps in taming storm surges (and) stopping reclamation projects that cause fish decline.”
Nearly a week before World Fisheries Day last Nov. 21, the fisherfolk group held an online forum to review the state of the current situation of the Philippine fisherfolk. Together with Sama-samang Artista para sa Kilusang Agraryo (SAKA), PAMALAKAYA conducted the “Kuwentuhang Pesante: Kalagayan ng mga Mangingisdang Pilipino” spearheaded by PAMALAKAYA National Spokesperson Ronnel Arambulo.
On World Fisheries Day, groups gathered in front of the office of the Department of Agriculture to reiterate their calls for genuine reform.
“Given there is barely a law that genuinely addresses the calls of our fishermen, it is only a must to assert a genuine reform that will meet the interests not only of our fishermen but of their Filipino fellows who consume their catches,” said Arambulo. (RTS, RVO) 
