The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) is seeking an audience with Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to discuss the situation of small fishermen in the country. The group wants to present the current predicaments of small fishermen under the existing laws and the impact of the series of oil price hikes, hoping to get the BFAR on its side in pushing for policy reforms in favor of the sector, considered among “the poorest of the poor” in the Philippines. The group, in a letter to BFAR Director Eduardo Gongona, wants to discuss the “ills” of Republic Act 10654, otherwise known as the Amended Fisheries Code, and how it has added burden to small fishers in Manila Bay and Laguna de Bay, particularly the hefty fines and unjust fishing restrictions the government imposes.

Mayuga, J. L. (2022, February 23). Group seeks talks with BFAR on plight of small fishermen. Business Mirror, p. A4.