Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 21) — Pamalakaya and other fisherfolk groups troop to the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Tuesday, demanding that Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel abandon the reclamation projects of his family’s company, Frabelle Fishing Corporation, in Cavite.
“Kung talagang wala na siyang pakialam sa Frabelle, i-denounce niya hindi lang yung planong reclamation sa Bacoor, kung hindi sa Manila Bay at buong bansa,” said Pamalakaya chairperson Fernando Hicab.
[Translation: If he really doesn’t care about Frabelle anymore, he will denounce not only the reclamation plan in Bacoor, but also in Manila Bay and the whole country.]
Pamalakaya said the family-run 420-hectare reclamation project in Bacoor, Cavite already displaced more than 700 fishing families in the last two years, and threatens more than 1,000 coastal families to this day.
\”Ang kailangan ng ating pangisdaan ay rehabilitation, mangrove reforestation, tsaka pagde-develop ng mga komunidad, hindi reclamation,\” Hicab said.
[Translation: What our fisheries need is rehabilitation, mangrove reforestation, and community development, not reclamation.]
Fishermen face challenges from large fishing corporations, like the one that was once headed by Tiu Laurel, in addition to the effects that reclamation projects have on their livelihood.
They said used to make ₱1,200 each time they sailed at sea, but now they only make ₱300.
Although Laurel is no longer the president of Frabelle, the fishers’ groups still demand adequate compensation and help from the company run by the DA secretary’s family.
The groups held their protest in time for World Fisheries Day, which was first celebrated on Nov. 21, 1997.
Laurel has yet to issue a statement or comment on the matter.
