Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 20) – Agriculture Secretary William Dar defended his department’s decision to allow the importation of 60,000 metric tons (MT) of fish, saying solutions to address supply gaps are limited due to decades-long underfunding.
Dar said this in a news briefing on Thursday when asked why the government often resorts to imports when there are shortages of agricultural commodities.
“Kasi ito, long-rooted na ito [This has been long-rooted],” he said. “Ang agri-fisheries sector has been neglected, has been underfunded, has been underinvested all these 40 years. So, ito na ang resulta [So, this is the result].”
“Kung kulang ang budget, kakaunti lang magawa natin [If the budget isn’t enough, there is little we can do],” he added.
Fisherfolk groups and several lawmakers have slammed the Department of Agriculture’s issuance of a certificate of necessity to import, saying this will only hurt the local fishing industry.
But Dar maintained they have data to support their decision.
He reiterated the move was made in response to a potential deficit this quarter of about 119,000 MT due to the closed fishing season, as well as high fish prices significantly contributing to food inflation in 2021.
Dar also cited the impact of Typhoon Odette to fishing communities. He said latest figures showed the fisheries and aquaculture sector has suffered nearly ₱4 billion worth of damage, which include destroyed fishing equipment.
“Alam natin ang dapat natin gawin para sa ating mga mangingisda at sa consuming public,” the Agriculture chief said. “May datos po kami na nagpapatibay na meron kaming basehan sa lahat ng desisyon natin.”
[Translation: We know what we have to do for our fishermen and the consuming public. We have data that prove we have a basis for all our decisions.]
In a statement, however, House Deputy Speaker Lito Atienza, a vice presidential aspirant, alleged “corruption” is causing the shortage. He pointed out the abundance of the country’s resources, including Laguna de Bay, which he said has been monopolized by big fish pens and cages “owned by powerful and rich businessmen, and many are even owned by foreigners.”
“I will not be surprised if the fish we are importing all came from our own Philippine waters! Can you not see the irony? Fish that is caught in our waters are brought to China and then Chinese businessmen offer the same to sell to the Philippines and our government is buying it at a higher cost,” he said.
Another vice presidential hopeful, Senator Kiko Pangilinan, said the need to import results from the state’s lack of support for fishermen and farmers. With this, he called on the government to urgently adopt more sustainable solutions to ensure food self-sufficiency.
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