A band-aid solution. A poor supply side intervention.
This was how a senior opposition lawmaker tagged the decision of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to bring in some P1.4 billion worth of galunggong (round scad) imports starting the first week of September, in a bid to suppress rising fish prices.
“It is a band-aid solution that does not really address the problem of falling fish production. It is a miserable supply side intervention,” Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza, the senior deputy minority leader, said.
The 17,000 metric tons of imported galunggong is expected to have a landed cost of P75 to P80 per kilo and would be sold directly in local wet markets to help stabilize fish prices, the DA said.
“What difference will 17 million kilos make? That is just equal to 17 million households consuming one kilo each in a day. Ubos na ’yan sa loob ng isang araw lang [The fish import will be consumed in a single day],” Atienza said.
“The best way for the government to fight off rising fish or food prices for that matter is by enabling the production of more fish and more food,” Atienza, former three-term mayor of Manila, said.
“Historically, if we look at other countries that produce large food supplies, they tend to have relatively stable inflation rates, regardless whether the price of crude oil is $50 or $100 per barrel,” Atienza said.
Inflation soared to a new five-year high of 5.7 percent in July, mainly due to food and nonalcoholic beverages posting a 7.1-percent annual rate of increase.
Atienza earlier said that Malacañang “ought to do a Boracay” on the municipal waters around Metro Manila and Luzon to revive fish production.
“We cannot expect fish and other marine life to thrive abundantly in our highly toxic municipal waters,” Atienza said.
“We’ve seen how marine life around Boracay has started to rush back within just a few months after the government closed it down for rehabilitation,” he added.
Atienza blamed illegal fish cages, industrial waste, untreated sewage and unchecked land reclamation for the rapid decay of the waters around Metro Manila.
In his first State of the Nation Address in July 2016, President Duterte himself expressed dismay over the deterioration of Laguna Lake, which used to supply one-third of Metro Manila’s fish consumption.
The Chief Executive then vowed to give small fisherfolk greater rights over the resources of the lake, which he said had been taken over by powerful fish pen operators that includes generals, mayors, governor, or even congressmen. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz