Calling the Philippines a “seafood and aquaculture powerhouse,” former senator and senatorial candidate Kiko Pangilinan will push for the creation of a Department of Fisheries that will significantly increase the budget for the fisheries sector of the country.
The former official noted that the Philippines is composed of 80% water and only 20% land, but there is a wide gap in the budget provided for both sectors.
“Mahalaga dahil kinakailangan tutukan ang fisheries and aquamarine resources natin. Mas malaki nang 80 percent (ang tubig). 80 percent ng ating teritoryo ay karagatan o tubig,” he said during a phone patch interview with Bombo Cebu on Monday, April 14.
Pangilinan is barnstorming Pangasinan province today to push for his platforms of food security and lower food prices.
“20 porsyento lang ang lupa pero kulang ang suporta sa ating fisheries, kulang ang suporta at budget para sa aquaculture na malaking paraan para dagdag na kita at dagdag na pagkain sa ating mga kababayan at ng seafood, isda, at iba pang aquaculture products,” he added.
If he wins another term in the Senate in the upcoming May 2025 polls, Pangilinan promised to renew his push for a Department of Fisheries.
Currently, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is under the Department of Agriculture (DA).
The former senator earlier said that the Philippines can be a fisheries powerhouse of the world because it is the center of the “most diverse marine ecosystem in the planet.”
“Ibig sabihin, kapag ginamit natin nang maayos–mayaman ang ating aqua resources. Napakayaman–Kapag inalagaan natin, kaya nating ma-export ang mga produkto,” he furthered.
Despite running an independent campaign, Pangilinan expressed his willingness to work across the political spectrum to achieve his advocacies of food security.
“Walang kulay ang gutom. Wala ring kulay ang solusyon. Ang pagkain ay karapatan, hindi pribilehiyo. Sa ating pagbabalik sa Senado, sisiguruhin nating mapababa ang presyo ng pagkain, kaya handa tayong makipagtulungan kahit kanino.”