In Pinamalayan, one of the towns heavily hit by the months-long Oriental Mindoro oil spill from MT Princess Empress, some residents are left with no choice but to continue fishing despite the government’s continuing restrictions.
A 26-year-old fisherwoman from Sitio Pating, Pinamalayan, said that with the fishing ban in place for the last four months, they find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place.
Choices narrow further when the stomach grumbles.
“Sa hirap ng buhay at wala talaga pong pumapayag at walang dumadating na sapat na ayuda, napipilitan po talaga kaming maghanapbuhay nang patago,” she told Rappler. (Because of poverty, the fishing ban, and insufficient aid, we’re forced to do our livelihood in secret.)
When Rappler recently visited the fishing community, another Pinamalayan resident recalled an encounter with Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel who reprimanded him for fishing but never charged or took him away. He said the coast guard may have been lenient because they also understand what the fisherfolk are going through.
Fisherfolks’ months of suffering is “worse than the COVID-19 lockdown,” said environmental group Kalikasan, “due to a blanket fishing ban and little to no ayuda (aid), leading to physical and psychological distress across communities.”
As of June 28, the oil spill has affected at least 3,052 fisherfolk in Pinamalayan, with the damage to agriculture in the town alone already reaching P675.48 million.
Pinamalayan is one of the last three towns where the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources’ (BFAR) fishing ban remains in place. Fisherfolk in 10 towns, including Bongabong, Bulalacao, Puerto Galera, have already been allowed to fish since more than a month ago.
What’s taking the BFAR – an agency under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Department of Agriculture – so long to lift the fishing ban in the last three towns that desperately need their livelihood back?
The agency’s lack of technological capability to conduct faster testing of fish samples in affected municipal waters has drawn out the fishing ban, impeding the long road to recovery.