House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano has underscored the need to create a new department for fisheries and aquatic resources.
Cayetano, one of the authors of the proposal creating Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DFAR), said while the Department of Agriculture already exists, its focus is more on land-based farming.
Cayetano emphasized the need to create the DFAR to strengthen the institutional capacities of the agency as the primary policy and regulatory body on fisheries and aquatic resources.
“DFAR will serve public purpose, efficiency and the best interest of the industry. Hence, this will be a significant step to better protect, utilize, maximize and conserve the nation’s marine resources, as well as uphold the best interest of the fisherfolk,” Cayetano said.
According to the Speaker, in the global context, the Philippines is one of the world’s top fish-producing countries, ranking eighth in 2016 with a total production of 4.2 million metric tons.
“Likewise, it is the world’s third largest producer of aquatic plants [including seaweeds], having produced a total of 1.4 million metric tons,” he said.
With this, the Committee on Government Reorganization chaired by Rep. Mario Vittorio Mariño and the Committee on Aquaculture and Fisheries Resources chaired by Rep. Leo Rafael Cueva created a technical working group to harmonize 11 bills seeking to create the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
For his part, Mariño assured that the policies of DFAR would not be in conflict with policies on matters related to fishery and aquatic resources.
He added that once the measure is enacted into law, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) shall be abolished and all its functions, appropriations and properties shall be transferred to the department.
Deputy Speaker Michael Romero, also one of the authors of the bill, said his proposal seeks to further intensify the authority and power of the BFAR by elevating it to the level of a department.
“My proposal further empowers the department to develop, conserve, manage, protect and utilize the country’s fisheries and acquatic resources,” he added.