Fishing trade workers protest changes in code

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines—At least 3,000 workers of the fishing industry held a rally in front of the office of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) here on Monday to protest proposed amendments to a law that governs fishing in the country but which the protesters said would endanger their source of livelihood.

Joe Suan, national president of the Philippine Integrated Industries Labor Union, said proposed amendments to Republic Act No. 8550, or the Fisheries Code of 1998, would threaten the viability of the fishing industry and make it more expensive for investors to engage in the fishing trade.

The proposed amendments are contained in House Bill No. 04536 and Senate Bill No. 2414, which have been consolidated and are awaiting passage by both chambers of Congress before the consolidated measure is submitted to President Aquino for signing into law.

Suan said the amendments would increase penalties for violation of the code, which, he said, was unreasonable.

The amendments, he added, would also give the BFAR absolute power that “restraining orders [from courts] will no longer be available to stop any of its orders.”

Under the consolidated amendments bill, vessel owners will face imprisonment for violating the Fisheries Code.

The current law holds liable only the vessel captain, the chief engineer and master fisherman for violations of the code, he said.

Another amendment that Suan’s group is protesting is a proposal to require monitoring systems to be installed in all fishing vessels. Suan said the proposal would force vessel owners, including small fishermen, to spend thousands of pesos that should otherwise be spent on the fishermen’s other needs.

The proposal, Suan said, would also increase the cost of doing business in the fishing industry.

A single monitoring system costs P240,000 with maintenance expenses of P20,000 per month.

Suan said the amendments would have a direct impact on the livelihood of the thousands of people working in the fishing industry not only in Zamboanga but nationwide.

“The proposed amendments are also expected to raise operating expenses of canning factories, which could possibly lead to the retrenchment of thousands of workers in Zamboanga City’s canning industry,” he said.

Government data showed that at the 21 canning factories here alone, some 30,000 people are employed. There are also an estimated 10,000 direct or indirect workers in fishing-related service companies. Liza Jocson, Inquirer Mindanao