AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee has filed a bill seeking to guarantee a fuel subsidy for municipal fisherfolk by providing a fuel voucher of not less than P1,000 per month.
Under House Bill No. 8007 or the “Pantawid Pambangka Act of 2023,” the Department of Agriculture is mandated to administer the monthly subsidy program, in which the amount will be revised every year to account for inflation.
“Despite the fishing sector’s major contribution, our fishermen continue to be among the fundamental sectors’ poorest people. Hindi po makatarungan na kung sino pa ang producer ng pagkain, sila pa ang napapabayaan at pinaka-naghihirap,” Lee said.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) Fisheries Situation Report for Major Species, total fisheries production grew to 4,339.89 thousand metric tons or by 2.2% in 2022 as compared to the previous year’s output of 4,248.26 thousand metric tons. The report noted increases in production in marine municipal fisheries and aquaculture, while commercial and inland municipal fisheries reported setbacks during the year.
According to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), the municipal and aquaculture sub-sectors contributed 73% to the total production of the fisheries sector from 2011 to 2020.
Based on the preliminary estimates of PSA’s 2021 poverty statistics, fisherfolk registered the highest poverty incidence rate of 30.6%, higher than the 26.2% recorded in 2018.
“Nakakalungkot at nakakabahala ito. Ang ating mga mangingisda ang isa sa mga pinaka-apektado kapag may kalamidad. Kasama sila sa pinaka-tinatamaan sa pagtaas ng presyo ng gasolina at ng basic commodities. In their meager income, how can our fishers provide food, medicine, education, clothing, shelter, fund for emergencies for their family?” Lee asked.
“Kaya malaking tulong na magarantiya ang ayuda sa ating mga mangingisda. Sa insentibong ito ng gobyerno, hindi lang natin ipinapakita ang pagpapahalaga natin sa kanilang malaking kontribusyon, mapapataas din ang produksyon at kita nila, na pakikinabangan din ng consumers; Winner Tayo Lahat,” he added.
The beneficiaries of this measure shall be municipal fisherfolk who fish within municipal waters, whether coastal or inland, and who use motorized fishing vessels of three (3) gross tons or less: Provided, that they are registered under the National Program for Municipal Fisherfolk Registration of the BFAR.
If passed into law, beneficiaries of the program will be automatically enrolled and covered under the National Health Insurance program of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth). The Social Security System (SSS) shall also provide microinsurance mechanisms to beneficiaries.
The equivalent of 10% of any increase in the collections in the excise tax on fuel shall be earmarked for the implementation for this Act, which shall be indicated as a separate line item under the annual appropriations of the DA under the General Appropriations Act (GAA).
