Cavite fisherfolk protest gov’t failed measures on oil crisis

By Nash Villena, Philippine Canadian Inquirer
March 31, 2026

(Photo courtesy: PAMALAKAYA-Cavite/Facebook)

IMUS, Cavite — Caviteño members of the PAMALAKAYA fisherfolk group held a “tigil-palaot” for a day on Monday in protest against the government’s “inadequate response” and failure to mitigate the oil price shock’s effect on ordinary Filipinos.

Prior to the protest activity, the group said most of the fisherfolk in Cavite had no choice but to halt their fishing livelihood for almost a month, citing the unsustainability of their work because they cannot earn enough to cover their fuel costs, which had increased to nearly 120%.

“Our fishing boats are docked for almost a month now because we can no longer afford the skyrocketing price of diesel. Some fisherfolk have temporarily left fishing and shift to same odd jobs including construction work,” PAMALAKAYA-Cavite President Richard Catenza said.

“Meanwhile, the promised fuel subsidy by the government remains elusive for the food security front-liners like us,” he added.

The group joins the PAMALAKAYA’s demands that the government remove the taxes on fuel, which notoriously add up to PHP 20 per liter on petroleum products.

Similarly, they seek the “immediate and adequate” rollout of fuel subsidies for the fisherfolk sector, whereas over 2 million are reportedly registered.