El Niño, which is leaving many farms parched of water, is also affecting those who live off the country’s waters. Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto on Saturday urged the government to extend its El Niño aid program “from inland places to the sea.” “Not only farmers, but fishermen are getting hit, too,” Recto said, adding that “TV footage of fishponds drying up in Central and Northern Luzon “ back government reports of a large number of fisherfolk affected by the dry spell.” Compounding the natural calamity, Recto said, “is the man-made disaster of Filipino fishermen being shooed away by Chinese naval might from large sections of their traditional fishing grounds in the West Philippine Sea.”

Recto seeks aid to fishermen. (2016, April 17). Manila Standard, p. A7.