To avoid shortage of fish supply, especially tilapia and bangus following the Taal volcano eruption, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” Domagoso told fish vendors Wednesday to get rid of the “suki” (favored buyer) system.
Domagoso said some fish dealers opted not to sell these fishes coming from Batangas, Laguna and Cavite, which were adversely affected by the Sunday eruption of Taal Volcano.
In an interview over radio DZMM, Domagoso said more products would be coming in from Central Luzon and the Cordillera Administrative Region to cushion the impact of the lack of supply of these fishes due to the eruption.
Domagoso said the additional fish supply was assured by the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
Domagoso reminded fish dealers to accept the fish supply from the north, as he noted that some fish dealers have only been accepting supplies from their “suki.”
“We already gave a directive to our market administrator, son our 17 markets to accept all kinds of supply coming from the north since there’s the so-called suki-suki, but if the ‘suki’ supplier is absent, they wouldn’t buy,” Domagoso said.
“So if they don’t get (fish supply from the north), there will be shortage, “ said Domagoso.
“But there’s enough supply, only they come from other places. So they have no reason to jack up their prices,” he added.
The mayor told fish dealers to refrain from increasing their prices amid a reported shortage of bangus and tilapia products coming from Batangas, Laguna, and Cavite.