By Manny Piñol
In a simple but emotional ceremony in Masinloc, Zambales Wednesday, 200 poor fisherfolk families received 100 sturdy fiberglass fishing boats from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) of the Dept. of Agriculture.
I saw tears, smiles and faces of joy in the crowd of fishermen who gathered in a small hall with their Congresswoman Cheryl Deloso-Montalla and the mayor of Masinloc Arsenia Lim.
People of the town said it was the first event where the poor fishermen of Zambales received so much from the government.
Actually, the 100 units of the fiberglass fishing boats, complete with engines, nets, fishing hooks and lines and life vests, were just part of the 300 units intended for the poor fisherfolk families in Zambales.
There will be 700 more units to be given out to other poor families in the provinces of Bataan and Pangasinan, who incidentally are fishing in the erstwhile disputed waters of the West Philippine Sea near Scarborough Shoal.
Each fiberglass fishing banca will be owned by two families – a strategy which I ordered to be adopted so that the risk of the beneficiary selling the boat would be avoided.
Also, I believe the strategy would promote the spirit of team work, camaraderie and cooperation among our people.
The fishermen are now being taught how to build the boats themselves by experts who started making these sturdy fiberglass boats in Leyte after Typhoon Yolanda ravaged the Eastern Visayas area and destroyed almost all of the fishing boats of poor families.
The raw materials composed of fiberglass resins and other materials are supplied by the government which are then mixed and moulded by the fishermen themselves.
The fishermen and the other workers making the fiberglass boats are paid for their labor.
The timetable for the completion of the 700 more units of fishing boats is two months.
When completed and distributed, there will be a virtual flotilla of 1,000 blue coloured fishing boats which will sail in the West Philippine Sea.
While I specifically asked the fishermen to make sure that each of their boat should fly a small Philippine flag, the distribution of 1,000 fishing boats to them has nothing to do with the diplomatic row between the Philippines and China over the West Philippine Sea issue.
The distribution of the fishing boats to poor fisherfolk families is part of the DA-BFAR’s program to address poverty in the sector, a mission given by President Rody Duterte when I assumed office as Agriculture Secretary.
In fact, similar boats have also been distributed in Mindoro and Samar and next week another 300 boats will be given out to poor fisherfolk families in Davao City.
The DA’s target is to distribute 500,000 units of these fiberglass fishing boats all over the country during the term of President Duterte.
Roughly, that target would result in 1-million fisherfolk families who will be able to catch fish daily and this could be translated to 1-million families lifted out of poverty at the end of the term of President Duterte.
It would also mean that if each of the 500,000 fiberglass fishing boats would be able to catch at least 10 kilos of fish daily, minus the three-month closed fishing season to be declared nationwide, it could be translated to about 5-million kilos of fish every day.
That could effectively be translated to a stable fish supply in the market at a price affordable to ordinary income earners in the country.
That could just be a theoretical computation but it is something which could be achieved by these poor fishermen with just a little help from government.
During the turn-over ceremony in Masinloc, I also pledged to provide the fishermen’s group ice-making and cold storage facilities.
(Photos of the Masinloc, Zambales fiberglass banca distribution taken by John Pagaduan.)
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