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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Anti-poor': Villar chides 'heartless' DA for depending on fish importation

'Anti-poor': Villar chides 'heartless' DA for depending on fish importation

Published Feb 10, 2022 01:41 pm

Senators on Thursday, February 10, chided the Department of Agriculture (DA) and its attached agency, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), for their dependence on fish importation to address purported fish shortage that only supposedly benefit the rich.

Senator Cynthia Villar, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform chairperson, said Thursday the two agencies "seem to have no heart for the poor" for favoring the importation during closed fishing season and calamities, instead of fully helping the fisherfolk.

"Ang pinakamaraming mahihirap nasa agriculture (Many poor people are in the agriculture industry). So I thought that if I would be the chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Food, then I can help in my own way to reduce poverty in the Philippines," she said during the hearing that aimed to tackle the importation of 60,000 metric ton of fish for the first quarter of the year.

"Eh ako lang ata ang may hearts for the poor, ito yatang DA walang (It seems it's only me that has heart for the poor. DA seems to have no) heart for the poor," she added.

Senators Imee Marcos and Bong Revilla, who were also present during the hearing, questioned the DA's dependence on importation despite enough fish supply asserted by various stakeholders.

"Certainly, we have to look at the many issues that have occurred in the flip-flopping of BFAR and DA from 2018 to the present," Marcos said.

Villar lamented the absence of DA Sec. William Dar, who was reportedly abroad, during the hearing as she raised concerns that could not be answered by other agency officials.

Villar also said the government must help the poor and not the rich, the big time suppliers and smugglers who supposedly only benefit from importation, because "that should be the point of view of the government."

Her call came after raising that fishermen could not sell their catch because of excessive fish supply.

After every calamity, she said, DA and BFAR must provide assistance, such as new boats or rehabilitation materials, to the fisherfolk, instead of immediately resorting to fish importation.

"What's so good about importation na lahat ng tao sa ano, hilig na hilig dyan, 'yang DA? Bakit pag may problema ang sagot agad eh importation? (that DA is so fond of it? Why everytime there's a problem, importation is always the answer?)" she asked.

"Hindi naman natin kailangang tulungan ang mga mayayaman eh. Mayaman na yan eh, saka maraming savings 'yan...ang problema natin 'yung mahihirap kasi di nga nila alam ang gagawin nila para ma-solve nila yung kanilang kahirapan kaya't tayo tutulong doon (We don't have to help the rich. They are already rich, they have savings... Our concern is the poor because they don't know what to do to solve their poverty, that's why we need to help them," Villar added.

Related Tags

Senate hearing bong revilla Cynthia Villar imee marcos fish importation heartless department of agriculture BFAR
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