NAPC and DA-BFAR to pilot test the FiSH for Stewards Program in Yolanda Affected Fishing Communities
The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) and the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) will pilot test the Fisherfolk Shelter for Stewards Program in the Municipality of Bantayan in Cebu, Cadiz City in Negros Oriental, Municipality of Guiuan in Eastern Samar and Municipality of Culion in Palawan. The FiSH for Stewards Program was a result of several consultations held by NAPC, DA-BFAR, NFR and AlterPlan in 2012.
Civil society organizations such as the NFR and the Save the Fisheries Now Network lobbied for a Php300 million for the pilot testing of 15 fishing communities. Unfortunately, the Department of Budget and Management did not include the said fund to the proposed budget of BFAR for 2014 because of absence of feasibility studies. This pushed back the long time calls of various organizations to implement Section 108 of Republic Act 8550 or the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998.
