SAN ANTONIO, ZAMBALES — With the provincial government set to roll out its multi-million peso fishing modernization program, a fishers group has cautioned that the initiative could be used to divert attention from ongoing dredging activities that potentially destroy municipal waters and coastal livelihoods.
The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) has aired the warning even as the Zambales provincial government announced its plans to modernize fishing in the province with better technology to upgrade fishing methods and increase marine harvest.
Last week, during his State of the Province Address (SOPA), Zambales Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. said that dredging and quarrying remain the province’s main sources of income, noting that revenues from these activities continue to fund priority programs and the province’s General Fund.
“According to PAMALAKAYA,… while (it) recognizes the need to modernize fishing technology, a stoppage on dredging and quarrying activities in the coastal area of the province would provide more immediate and lasting benefits to local fishermen.”
But the dredging and quarrying operations have faced opposition from some residents and environmental groups, who have raised concerns about their potential impact on coastal communities, marine ecosystems, and farmlands.
According to PAMALAKAYA vice chair Ronnel Arambulo, while his group recognizes the need to modernize fishing technology, a stoppage on dredging and quarrying activities in the coastal area of the province would provide more immediate and lasting benefits to local fishermen.
“While we recognize the urgent need for modernization to make the most of our territorial waters, the government must, foremost, preserve the municipal waters and coastal resources,” Arambulo disclosed.
“We urge the local fisherfolk in Zambales to be cautious of the provincial government’s attempt to use the donated fishing boats as a cover-up of its accountability over the continued destructive dredging project in the province,” he added.
The fishers group reiterated its call for the revocation of Department Administrative Order (DAO) 13, which it claimed enables seabed quarrying and dredging activities that have been damaging tradition fishing grounds and has displaced coastal communities in several towns of the province.