Benhur bats for fisher folk settlement

CEBU, Philippines - Fourth District Rep. Benhur Salimbangon will investigate the failure of some concerned government agencies in creating fisher folk settlements as provided under Republic Act 8550 or the Philippine Fisheries Code.

Salimbangon, chairman of the House Committee on Aquaculture and Fisheries, said he will invite to a meeting representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Bureau of Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to determine the causes of non-establishment of fisherfolks settlements mandated under Section 108 of RA 8550.

According to Salimbangon, the purpose of the inquiry is to find ways to resolve the issues raised in House Resolution 1411 to get the creation of the fisher folk settlements going.

Representative Sharon Garin (Party-list, AAMBIS-OWA), author of Resolution 1411, said despite the fact that the fisheries sector, composed of the “poorest among the poor,” remains the most neglected sector in the country despite the fact that it is a crucial player in the Philippine economy, contributing around P95.49 billion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Garin said fisher folk are displaced by tourism, development and calamities.

Section 108 of RA 8550 mandates that DA establishes fisher folk settlements in certain areas of the public domain specifically near fishing grounds. 

The committee, Salimbangon said, will ask the DENR to submit to the body an inventory of lands that may be used as resettlement areas for the fisher folk.

Salimbangon recalled that DILG has already initiated the establishment of fisher folk settlements in the past. He asked if the program is still ongoing and if the DILG monitors program completion or merely relies on the LGUs’ reports. — (FREEMAN)