By Senator Loren Legarda has warned that the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) plan to import 300,000–350,000 metric tons of fish is misplaced at a time when fuel costs are already crippling local fishing communities, stressing that the government must prioritize direct support through VAT suspension on fuel.
“We cannot trade our fishers for imported fish. While they are unable to go out to sea because of expensive fuel, the government is planning to import,” Legarda said in Filipino.
“What they need is assistance, livelihood support, and immediate relief from high fuel prices. If we have no fishers, there will also be no food on the Filipino family’s table,” she added.
