Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol urged the House of Representatives to prioritize the passage of a bill creating a separate Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. He stressed that such a new agency will be able to “regulate the ocean, marine life and other bodies of water within its jurisdiction, along the lines of conservation of marine and fisheries resource, both inland and off-shore.” According to the former three-term North Cotabato governor, there are six pending bills in the 17th Congress seeking to establish the DFAR, one of them—House Bill 426 filed by Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo—noted that while there are DA attached agencies focused on marine resources, “a centralized agency specifically created for such purpose can better discharge this duty.”

Rimando, A. P. (2016, September 14). Piñol bats for fisheries agency. Manila Standard, p. C1.