Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Mangingisda, nalulunod




Nalulunod sa nakaliliyo at naglalakihang alingasngas na balita ang kasalukuyang kalagayan ng mga mangingisda sa Pilipinas.

Bagamat may mga batas tayo upang sumusuporta sa mga mangingisda, na siyang naghahatid ng mga talakitok, lapulapu, tuna, galunggong, mayamaya at iba pang isda sa ating hapag kainan, masasabing hindi naman ito naipapatupad.

Hindi rin nakakatulong sa mangingisda ang paglalagay ng mga fishpens sa iba't ibang lugar sa ating karagatan dahil tanging mayayamang negosyante lamang ang may kayang mangapital sa mga katulad nito.



Maging ang mga di umano'y fish sanctuary ay hindi nakatulong sa mga mangingisda dahil lumiit lalo ang kanilang puwedeng pangisdaan. At kung papalaot naman sila ay hindi naman nila kaya dahil karaniwang maliliit na bangka lamang ang gamit ng ating mga mangingisda at sa laot ang kanilang kalaban ay mga dambuhalang bangka, na kadalasan ay pumapasok pa sa mga lugar na siyang itinakda para sa mga maliliit na mangingisda.

Kaya sang-ayon ako kay Akbayan party rep. Kaka Bag-ao, ang abogadong naglakad kasama ng Sumilao farmers at nagtaguyod sa kanilang labang mapasakamay nila ang mga lupaing sinasaka, na panahon upang maprotektahan ang milyon-milyong maliliit na mangingisda ng bansa.

Ayon kay Rep. Bag-ao, itinataguyod ng Sec. 108 ng Republic Act 8850 o ang Philippine Fisheries Code na magtakda ng mga settlement areas para sa mga mangingisdang naitaboy mula sa kanilang tinitirhan malapit sa karagatan.

Idinagdag pa ni Rep. Bag-ao na dapat ay malapit din sa karagatan ang mga settlements.

"Unfortunately, even after thirteen years from the enactment of the law in 1998, the Department of Agriculture, through the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources failed to issue the proper implementing rules to implement the spirit of Section 108," wika ni Rep. Bag-ao sa kanyang privilege speech sa Mababang Kapulungan nitong  Nob. 23, 2011.

"As I have previously stated in my privilege speech, the Philippines, as an archipelago, has very rich and abundant marine and aquatic resources.  This has made us among the world’s 40 largest fish producing countries, providing a livelihood to more than two million Filipinos. In fact, data shows that fisheries contribute around 4.3 % of our GDP and 18% of the gross-value added. It is also one of the Filipino’s main sources of food, second only to rice>'

"Despite these crucial factors which highlight the importance of the fishing industry, our fisherfolk sector remains to be one of the poorest among the poor and continues to confront major problems such as the issue of tenurial security.  More than 60% of the people residing in coastal areas are at risk of strong wave surges and typhoons or being claimed by individuals. Traditional routes to fishing grounds, areas for seaweed and fish drying are being privatized and commercialized resulting to displacement of municipal fisherfolks," diin ng kinatawan ng Akbayan Party.

Dahil sa pagsasawalang bahala ng pamahalaan sa kalagayan ng mga mangingisda, hiniling ni Rep. Bag-ao na imbestibahan kung bakit hindi naipapatupad ang mga batas.

"Mga kasamahan kong mambabatas, our fisherfolks are not asking to be granted new rights. They are merely asking for the implementation of the rights long been granted to them by the Constitution.  Section 7, Article XIII of the 1987 Constitution mandates the State to protect the rights of subsistence fishermen, especially of local communities, to the preferential use of local marine and fishing resources, both inland and offshore.

"The right of fisherfolks to land tenure also finds basis not only in RA 8550 or the Fisheries Code of 1998 but also in RA 7160 or the Local Government Code and RA 7279 or the Urban Development and Housing Act. Despite this fact, our fisherfolks are still saddled with problems on land tenure and displacement which should have long been remedied by the aforementioned laws.

"Fellow lawmakers, the laws that we enact, how noble they may be, are rendered useless if they will not be implemented.  With this hearing, we hope to propose a solution to this vacuum in our system of delivering basic services to our underprivileged sectors."

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