MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA) has slammed a video uploaded by a former mayor of Laurel, Batangas, which tagged a “barker” of the Navotas Fish Port Complex (NFPC) as a coronavirus-positive patient.
In a statement on Saturday, the PFDA said that it got word of the video uploaded by former Laurel mayor Randy James Amo, and was joined by Agnes Artista, Administrative Officer of Taal Lake Central Fish Port, that is not under the PFDA.
The PFDA said that it has not employed any “barkers” at the Navotas Fish Port.
“Upon PFDA’s consultation with the local government of Navotas City, local health officials likewise had no idea where the personalities in the video had gotten their wrong information,” the association said.
“As per the local health officials, only their office and the Department of Health are authorized to confirm the existence of COVID-19 cases in Navotas City, and none of which involved an NFPC worker,” the PFDA added.
The PFDA further stated that it was already studying legal actions against Amo and Artista for spreading “fake news.”
“It must be noted that 70% of the fish supply in Metro Manila and various parts of Luzon comes from the NFPC,” the PFDA said.
“Herefore, the PFDA is committed to upholding the interest of our fishing industry front-liners such as the fishermen and fish port laborers who have been working hard to ensure the continuous supply of fish, as well as for the interest of all communities that have been aggravated by the wrong information that Mr. Amo and Ms. Artista have been perpetuating in this time of crisis,” the PFDA added.