Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito raised the need to fund the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources’ (BFAR) “re-fleeting” program to protect Filipino fishermen from the Chinese maritime militia loitering in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
He made the appeal during the Senate finance subcommittee hearing on the proposed 2024 budget of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and its attached agencies, including BFAR.
The senator said that BFAR should be given additional funds to buy additional “multi-mission and patrol vessels” to further support the fishermen venturing into the WPS.
“I think it is very important. We cannot just let the militia vessels of China take advantage of our exclusive economic zone,” Ejercito said.
“I think our fishermen should be the ones taking advantage of the vast marine resources in the West Philippine Sea,” he stressed.
BFAR Director Demosthenes Escoto said that the bureau has four multi-mission vessels and 14 monitoring, control and surveillance patrol vessels being used to supply food, gasoline and rescue fishermen in time of calamities and other untoward incidents.
Meanwhile, Sen. Francis Tolentino has sought an update from DA officials on the status of unfinished hatcheries that the Commission on Audit (CoA) recently flagged.
Tolentino pointed out that the construction of the nine hatcheries flagged by CoA should have been completed in 2022. He wondered whether it is feasible to have a “Tamban” hatchery.
“I have been reading an avalanche of materials that raising sardine fingerlings in a hatchery can be done provided the environment’s oxygenated water, temperature salinity would be of standard,” he said.
“I’m saying this because we have a close fishing season in Zamboanga. So, is there a possibility of having a tamban hatchery?” Tolentino asked.
BFAR officials said they would coordinate with the Department of Science and Technology to determine the feasibility of a fish hatchery.