Press Release
July 22, 2008

Villar welcomes fishers at the Senate

Senate President Manny Villar today received a letter of appeal from fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) right at the shore of Manila Bay fronting the Senate.

Under the heat of the sun, Villar welcomed six fishermen who were dripping wet from a swim protest which began in Barangay Maliksi 3 in Bacoor, Cavite and ended at the Senate.

Upon being informed of the plan of the fishermen to deliver a letter to the Office of the Senate President, Villar waited for his visitors in the area and ensured that he be the one to welcome them after their tiring swim.

The six swimmers, led by Pamalakaya vice-chair Salvador France, and members Reggie Cullon, Felipe Blasabas, Michael and Dennis Carbunco and Billy Bartolome, said they were originally 20 when they started in Maliksi. Halfway through the swim protest which was backed up by a boat, the strong waves and lack of fuel prevented their companions to complete the course.

They cited in their letter the following pleas: (1) rice subsidy for the victims of typhoon Frank; (2) oil subsidy for small fishermen and boat operators; (3) economic relief for fishermen without motorized bancas starting at P3,000; (4) livelihood capital for fishers whose nets and fishing equipment were destroyed by the typhoon; (5) the removal of endosulfan from the sunken MV Princess of the Stars. They also proposed to: suspend debt service payments; release the P30-billion unprogrammed funds including the P2.5 Kilos Asenso fund; remove the 12-percent expanded value-added tax on petroleum products; and repeal the Oil Deregulation Law.

Villar earlier filed Senate Resolution 504 urging the Senate to inquire into the plight of fishermen and the fishing industry in the wake of calamities.

The Nacionalista Party president said the triple scourge of the typhoon, the sunken ship, and the high cost of fuel devastated small fishers and the fishing industry the most.

Earlier, the Senate President, who used to sell shrimps in the market, urged the government to extend fuel discount, livelihood support, and loans for the purchase of second-hand vessels to the affected fishermen, while also pushing the review of the Oil Deregulation Law.

Villar explained that nearly half of the total catch of fish and seafood in the country is made by municipal and subsistence fishers who operate small boats in shallow coastal waters.

Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said the "10-kilometer" swim protest is part of the nationwide fish strike which the alliance and its 43 chapters will launch next month. He said it is also part of the week-long protest action this week by the umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan prior to the State of the Nation Address.

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