DA urged: Use calamity fund for fisherfolk affected by habagat
FISHING composite image from Inquirer files
MANILA, Philippines – Fishers’ group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) has urged the Department of Agriculture (DA) to utilize part of its calamity fund to assist small fisherfolk affected by the southwest monsoon or habagat.
In a statement on Wednesday, Pamalakaya demanded that the DA use the P1-billion calamity fund allocated to regions “to provide rural sectors with disaster financial assistance and other forms of economic aid.”
The demand came after Pamalakaya said it has received reports that “a significant number of small fisherfolk in Manila Bay have already halted their fishing activities since the start last week of May.”
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“Many fishermen have been forced to stop fishing due to the strong waves brought by the southwest monsoon. There are even reports that boats have been capsized because the bad weather is expected to last for several months,” Pamalakaya national chairperson Fernando Hicap said.
“Fishermen and their families are now worried about their daily expenses, especially since their livelihood comes only from the sea,” he added.
Pamalakaya lamented that the fishing sector constantly suffers from hunger and poverty.
The group asserted that the government failed to provide livelihood support and sufficient relief in times of natural calamities.
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“Natural calamities are worsened by the government’s poor disaster preparedness, lack of substantial response and climate change mitigation program,” Hicap said.
“This makes the government criminally liable over negligence and incompetence to concretely act in these trying times,” he added.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration recently announced it would stop releasing heat index information until March next year, following the start of the rainy season in the country. /das
