Santa Rosa lone district Rep. Dan Fernandez (Screenshot from Facebook live)

MASINLOC, Zambales--If it works for jeepney drivers then it should work for fishermen, too.

This was probably the thought process of Santa Rosa City lone district Rep. Dan Fernandez when he pitched the idea of "consolidation" to the fishermen here, a la the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).

Fernandez told the fishermen--who had been driven away by the Chinese from the bountiful Bajo de Masinloc--that joining a similar program would grant them the needed subsidy to get "upgraded and up-to-date" fishing boats and stop them from getting bullied.

"Kasi kailangan na rin i-modernize ang inyong mga bangka, itataas na po natin ang lebel ng inyong pangingisda. Upang sa ganun, hindi na tayo ma-bully nung ating mga banyagang nag-iikot dyan sa ating mismong dagat," he told the audience here Friday, May 24 during a joint committee hearing of the House of Representatives.

(Because there's a need to modernize your boats, let's upgrade your level of fishing. So that the foreigners who make rounds in our own seas won't be able to bully us anymore.)

Consolidation was the first requirement that the government imposed on PUV drivers for the purpose of modernizing their jeepneys. It basically entails the formation of cooperatives, which will then get to loan significant amounts from state-owned Land Bank.

"May template na po yung ganung programa, nagawa na po namin sa mga jeepney drivers, at maari po naming gawin sa inyo pong mga mangingisda," Ferdnandez said rather confidently.

(We already have a template for this program, we've done this with the jeepney drivers and we can do this with fishermen like you.)

"Dahil kakaunti lang naman tong mga mangingisda natin dito no nagmamay-ari ng bangka, ko-consolidate po kayo sa isang kooperatiba na kung saan yung kooperatiba, nakakapag-loan po sa Land Bank," he further told the fishermen.

(Since there are only a few of you who own boats, we will consolidate you into a cooperative, which would then get to loan from Land Bank.)

Citing the PUVMP template, the Laguna congressman said that each modernized jeep received as much as a P200,000 subsidy from the government.

Whether or not the fishermen here would find modernization through consolidation sensible remains to be seen; under the PUVMP, the consolidation process arguably gave the biggest headache to the stakeholders.

During Friday's joint panel hearing that discussed the West Philippine Sea (WPS) issue, the House members learned that the Chinese vessels in Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal were at least five times bigger than the boats of Masinloc fishermen.

The Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) also deploys militia and patrol ships in the area.

At any rate, Fernandez said that applying the PUVMP to the fishermen was "just a recommendation".