Senator Loren Legarda has recently criticized the Department of Agriculture (DA) for its failure to present a clear response to rising oil prices, warning that the crisis has already forced nearly half of Luzon’s small-scale fishers to suspend operations. During a hearing of the Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform last 8 April, Legarda cited data from the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura showing that fishers in Cavite, Bataan, Zambales, and Pangasinan have stopped going to sea.

Legarda demands clear action plan over farmers, fishers' plight. (2026, April 10). Daily Tribune, p. B16.