Press Release: Speech of Hon. Loren Legarda
Deputy Speaker
Representative, Lone District of Antique
House of Representatives
Fisheries Industry Forum 2021
UP Visayas College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences
23 March 2021
Dr. Clement C. Camposano, Chancellor, UP Visayas; Mr. Phillip L. Ong, Chairman of Santeh Feeds Corporation; Atty. Gloria E. Ramos of Oceana Philippines; Ms. Ma. Flora Monica Tejas-Belinario of RARE Philippines; Prof. Encarnacion Emilia S. Yap, Dean of the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences; the faculty staff, students, stakeholders, and partner institutions who are joining today’s event, good morning to all of you.
It is a great honor to be part of this forum, which coincides with the 48th Foundation Day of the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, and the 74th anniversary of the UP Presence in Iloilo.
Being a province with rich marine resources and with majority of its residents who are dependent on the sea for their livelihood, Antique’s fishing or aquaculture production continues to be the main source of income for Antiquenos who live in the 15 coastal municipalities of this province.
Despite the importance of the Philippines’ coastal fishing sector, and local government support for fishers’ preferential access to coastal waters, the small-scale fishers are among the poorest and most marginalized people in the country, facing threats posed by the changing climate.
Climate change is taking its toll on both people and nature. With it happening at an unprecedented pace, scientists predict that the state of the seas and oceans will worsen in the coming years, causing damage to marine animals, coral reefs, mangrove forests, and seagrass beds that support coastal life, and leaving marginalized, small-scale fishing communities and marine-dependent economies to bear the brunt of the impacts.
The COVID-19 also forced us to adapt to the profound changes challenging the social and economic fabric that underpin our communities. While the pandemic and resulting lockdowns caught everyone off-guard, the need to protect and manage coastal resources for food and livelihoods has become ever-more-urgent. Thus, we must step up to ensure a sustainable, equitable, and healthy recovery.
As a means to protect and empower our local fisheries industry, I wish to highlight the measures we are working on to empower and strengthen the community-based coastal fisheries and livelihood management.
In the House of Representatives, I have filed House Bill No. 8263 which seeks to establish a multi-species marine hatchery in the municipality of Tibiao, Antique to streamline the impact of dwindling fish catch, coastal environment rapid degradation, stagnation of aquaculture and unpredictable climatic condition causing diseases occurrence on marine animals.
We also put spotlight on the importance of convergence among government agencies. We are working with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and other agencies for the coastal management and livelihood programs.
Since 2016, we have given thousands of FRP boats and fishing tools, kits, and accessories to 12 municipalities of Antique under the Bangkang Pinoy Program.
I have long supported the conduct of trainings and programs by higher educational institutions in sustaining and ensuring the competitiveness of our fisherfolks.
Last year, we pioneered the extension campus of UP in Barangay Nauring, Pandan, Antique. Concurrent with the construction of the extension campus was the conduct of trainings and activities catered for the fisherfolks. These include:
a. Fisheries Training Needs Assessment (Fisheries TNA)
This TNA aims to identify desired capabilities and to determine training needs to supplement current capabilities of local government units, fisherfolk and fisherfolk organizations, academe, and other organizations in the Province of Antique.
Among training needs identified are: Policy training (including governance); Fisheries post-harvest and processing; Coastal Resource Management (CRM) implementation; and Alternative livelihood training especially for women/wives
b. Developing Business Management Skills of Community-Based Fisherfolk Organizations Training
The sessions focused on basic management functions and tools which serve as foundation for the preparation of their business plans. At the end of the sessions, a total of 10 business plans were developed.
c. Technology Transfer of Fisheries Post Harvest Technologies to Fisherfolk Training
This training program was designed to enable fisherfolk to produce fishery products using locally available fish species and materials which can command higher prices than the existing products since the quality and safety are assured. Further, fisherfolk were capacitated to engage in enterprise development through assistance in the initial production and continuous monitoring of the products and of the business, and
d. Development of Flexible Learning Materials for Fisheries Higher Education Institutions
This activity was a collaboration between the UPV - College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences and the University of Antique. The project aimed to develop flexible learning materials that can be used by the fisheries higher education institutions in Antique (as target beneficiaries) and other provinces in region which is particularly relevant considering that face-to-face teaching had been suspended and schools and universities had resorted to remote learning.
On behalf of my fellow Antiqueños, we are grateful for this partnership with UP Visayas in order to complement the other efforts that we have initiated to help the fishing communities in Antique. Aside from the programs under BFAR, we also developed our local ports and established community fish landing. In partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry under their Shared Service Facilities program, we helped various livelihood organizations to learn new techniques and methods for fish processing so that they can come up with new food products out of their catch and which they can market and promote through the regular trade fairs that we have also helped organize together with DTI and the Department of Tourism.
Our fisherfolk provide food on our table, yet they remain among the poorest in our communities. This is why through all these programs, I wanted to help address the needs and concerns of our fisherfolk and, by doing so, sustain the progress we have achieved in the fisheries sector.
I may not be physically present, but rest assured that my commitment to serve and to help our fisherfolk will never falter. As Antique’s Representative, I will make sure that the needs of my kasimanwa will always come first and I will do everything in my capacity to meet them.
Closing
In closing, I laud the University of the Philippines Visayas, particularly the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences for facilitating this forum, and for providing scientific and technical conferences, trainings, and other capacity building activities that will greatly benefit not only the fisherfolks in the province, but the whole region and country as well.
I would like to also laud the women who are taking leadership roles in the fisheries sector and helping communities sustain the livelihoods in the coastal communities.
Women play a crucial role throughout the fish value chain as laborers and entrepreneurs, but their participation is often not recognized. In reality, women play a wide range of roles in small-scale fisheries, from processing seafood to designing marine reserves.
Again, congratulations to all of you and Happy Foundation Day! Duro guid na salamat!
Best Website Host:
www.bluehost.comLinkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=120824.0
