Vice presidential aspirant Senator Francis 'Kiko' Pangilinan assured that smugglers in the fisheries sector and "mafia-style" operations in the importation of round scad or "galunggong" will be dismantled in a Robredo-Pangilinan administration.

Pangilinan issued the statement on Saturday, Feb. 12, after the Department of Agriculture's (DA) claim of fish shortage was disputed even by the fisheries sector.

"Tulad ng pag-import ng PPEs (personal protective equipment) ng DBM-PS (Department of Budget and Management-Procurement Service) galing China, mukhang may sindikato na nakapaligid sa DA at kumikita sa importation ng baboy, isda, bigas, gulay at asukal (Just like the DBM imports PPEs from China, there seems to be a syndicate surrounding the DA that is raking money in from the importation of pork, fish, rice, vegetables and sugar)," he said

The National Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (NFARMC), the highest policy-making and recommendatory body in fisheries matters, rejected DA's plan to import 60,000 metric tons of fish.

According to the NFARMC, the country still had enough fish for the next couple of months.

“Halatang inuuna ang mga dayuhan at iniitsepwera mga lokal na industriya. Mukhang mafia style ang nangyayari sa iba’t ibang departamento. Department of Angkat (importation) na ba ang DA (Importers are obviously being prioritized, while local industries are being ignored. It looks like a mafia style operation is happening in different departments. Is the DA already a Department of Angkat?)," Pangilinan asked.

"Mawawalan ng kita ang mga local na mangingisda kapag bumaha sa merkado ng imported fish. Gusto ba natin silang pilayin o lumpuhin talaga? (Our fishermen will lose their livelihood when the local market will be flooded with imported fish. Do we really want to cripple them?)," he said.

Pangilinan has been calling out the DA for its practice of importing goods as its primary solution in dealing with food problems in the country, adding that this would have a negative impact on the local agriculture industry.

"Food crisis after food crisis, the DA's default mode is to import. This is harming, if not killing, the agriculture and fishing industries. Importation is a big blow to the local farmers and fisherfolk," he explained.

Recently, the DA's Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has decided to import an estimated 200,000 metric tons of sugar. The SRA defended its controversial decision by saying this was intended to prevent shortage and stabilize supply.

The DA also allowed last year the importation of vegetables and fruits, displacing local vegetable and fruit-growers.

"Kailangang unahin ang mga Pilipinong magsasaka at mangingisda, hindi ang mga interes ng mga importer. Pag nagsawa na sila sa pagpapakain sa atin, makakaasa ba tayo sa ibang bansa na pakainin tayo? (Filipino farmers and fishermen must come first, not the interests of importers. When they get tired of putting food on our table, can we expect other countries to feed us?)," Pangilinan said.