National Federation of Small Fisherfolk Organizations in the Philippines
“We’ve seen this program’s outcome these last two years. Bukod sa pekeng puting buhangin, ano ba ang signipikanteng naidulot ng dalawang taong rehabilitasyon ng Manila Bay? Nangangamba kaming magamit lamang ang ganitong kalaking pondo sa mga walang kakwenta-kwentang programa ng DENR tulad ng beach nourishment project na wala namang kinalaman sa pagpapanumbalik ng sigla ng Manila Bay bilang pangisdaan,” Fernando Hicap, PAMALAKAYA National Chairperson said in a statement.
Read more
In a statement, Bobby Roldan, PAMALAKAYA Central Luzon regional chairperson said that the proposed project would entail “devastating impacts” to the livelihood of not less than 5, 000 small fisherfolk in Pangasinan’s Dagupan City, Binmaley, Lingayen, Labrador, and Sual towns.
“This proposed offshore mining would certainly spell doom to the livelihood of thousands of small fishers who subsist in Lingayen Gulf through various forms of fishing. Not to mention its adverse impact to the livelihood of other coastal residents involved in inland fisheries and salt farms in interior parts,” Roldan warned, saying many fishponds and salt farms interconnected to the gulf are also threatened by the planned magnetite mining.
Read more
“The SC mandamus on Manila Bay is being used against the fishing and coastal population across the bay. The Duterte government treats us like garbage and our source of livelihood as pollutants yet intentionally turning a blind eye on the big fish industries that actually pollute, plunder, and destroy the bay for their business interest,” Fernando Hicap, PAMALAKAYA national chairperson said in a statement.
Read more
“Rehabilitating Manila Bay should be to restore its marine resources for the benefit of small fisherfolk. But the DENR’s thrust says otherwise. The government’s rehabilitation program has brought fear among the fishing and coastal population because its aim is to actually destroy our livelihood and displace us from communities,” Fernando Hicap, PAMALAKAYA National Chairperson said during the protest.
Read more
“A year after the infamous dumping of dolomites along Manila Bay, we ask the DENR what does it achieve in regards to restoration of the marine and fishery resources? Nothing. Because this project is precipitous, useless, and a total waste of public funds amid a public health crisis that every cent is crucial. The DENR should be made to answer over this ill-conceived program that cost our public coffers hundreds of millions,” Fernando Hicap, PAMALAKAYA national chairperson said in a statement.
Read more
In a statement, the fishers’ group raised fear that opening Boracay for casinos might pave the way for the “surge of POGOs that are tainted with immoral activities including organized crimes of trafficking, tax evasion, prostitution, and bribery”.
“This is the sum of all our fears; after Duterte declared Boracay a cesspool and ordered its six-month shutdown in 2018, he has now allowed casino operators, which are most likely foreign, to enter our famous tourist island. This is anti-Filipino, gross puppetry, and sellout of our national patrimony to foreign enterprises at the expense of our local tourist industry and moreover, our pristine marine resources,” Fernando Hicap, PAMALAKAYA national chairperson said in a statement.
Read more
