Addressing this issue a fisherfolk alliance has asked Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap to reject a plan by BFAR to ban fishing activities in Manila Bay, which is supposedly meant to lessen pollution. The group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) has warned that the BFAR’s proposal would adversely affect tens of thousands of fisherfolk whose livelihood are dependent on Manila Bay.
Pamalakaya chairperson Fernando Hicap informed that Secretary Yap is ill-advised on this proposal of BFAR. This stupid and highly erroneous proposal will spur massive protest from Manila Bay fishermen and coastal people who depend largely on Manila Bay’s resources for livelihood and survival.
It is told that Manila Bay is bounded by Bataan on the west, Pampanga and Bulacan in the north, Cavite in the south and the Metro Manila cities Malabon, Navotas, Caloocan, Manila, Pasay and Las Piňas in the east. Hicap said the fish ban will also reduce the country’s fish production.
BFAR proposed the partial closure of Manila Bay from 2012 to 2015 following a Supreme Court decision in December 2008 ordering the cleanup of the body of water. BFAR Director Malcolm Sarmiento Jr. said, however, that “small” fishermen should not worry about the proposal since only “commercial fishermen” will be covered by the ban.
