No formalin in galunggong; importation to proceed

MANILA, Philippines — Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol yesterday confirmed test results showing that there was no formalin present in galunggong (round scad) but remained firm that his department will proceed with its plan to import the fish.

Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources director and Department of Agriculture (DA) Undersecretary Eduardo Gongona earlier said no formalin was injected in the samples of galunggong collected from Balintawak Market, Cubao Farmer’s Market and Navotas Fish Port.

“It must be noted however that based on the laboratory analysis, low levels of formaldehyde were detected,” Gongona said, adding that formaldehyde naturally develops when fish dies.

But Piñol maintained that the DA will import galunggong despite warnings from the Department of Health and Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas.

He said the country has been importing galunggong for a long period of time, citing that at least 136,000 metric tons of the fish entered the local market last year.

“Why we are importing galunggong is because the closed fishing season will soon start and there will be a huge reduction in the catch. We really have to put up a system that will be able to supply the needed fish in the market and importation is one,” Piñol said.

“We are not importing just to address the price but it is also part of our fish conservation program,” Piñol added.

Meanwhile, BFAR is assuring the public that it is in close coordination with other government agencies to ensure safe entry of the commodity into the markets.

“We will continue to remain vigilant in ensuring that all fish commodities that are sold in the markets, either locally sourced or imported, are safe and free from any harmful substances,” Gongona said.

“We will not allow that fish to be sold will affect and harm the public’s health,” Gongona added.

Gongona admitted that imported galunggong may have actually come from Philippine waters that Filipino fishermen were not able to catch.

“If our fishermen cannot catch those within our municipal waters, the fish would go out (of our territory),” Gongona said. “So, it’s possible that (some) of the imports actually came from the Philippines.”

This is not the first time that the Philippines has imported galunggong from other countries.

The country has been importing fresh or chilled or frozen fish and fishery and aquatic products including galunggong for canning and processing purposes, including importation undertaken by institutional buyers like hotels and restaurants as allowed by law.

Fish, which contributed 0.7 percentage points to the five-year high inflation rate of 5.7 percent in July, has been affected by the tax reform package of the government particularly on the excise tax on fuel.

The industry said fishing operators are reducing fishing trips due to higher fuel costs, thereby reducing fish catch available in the market. About 70 percent of production cost of fisheries goes to fuel.

The new importation will start on Sept. 1 and will be sold wholesale in Navotas.

The latest market monitoring showed that galunggong is still being sold at P160 to P200 per kilogram compared with its suggested retail price (SRP) of P140.

Even other fish commodities like tilapia (cichlid) and milkfish are also sold at P130 and P180 per kg, way above their SRP of P100 and P150 per kg, respectively.