MANILA — Special Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go on Thursday lauded leaders and workers of Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA) for their dedication and hardwork as they celebrated their 42nd anniversary.
In his speech before the PFDA personnel, fishermen, and other stakeholders, Go said the agency has played a vital role in making the country known as one of the largest fish-producing nations worldwide.
“Sa katunayan, noon lamang 2015, ang Pilipinas ang itinuturing na ika-siyam na largest fish producing country na may kabuang production na 4.5 million metric tons na marine resources tulad ng isda, crustaceans, aquatic plants. Posible ang tagumpay na ito sa serbisyo ng mga ahensiya ng gobyerno na kaagapay ang industriya ng pangingisda kabilang ang PFDA (In fact, in 2015 the Philippines is considered as the ninth fish-producing country with a total production of 4.5 million metric tons of marine resources like fishes, crustaceans, aquatic plants. This success was made possible by the service of government agencies helping the fishing industry including PFDA),” he said.
Citing that the country is blessed with diverse marine resources, Go urged PFDA to continue strengthening the government’s developmental thrust in the fisheries sector which encounters numerous roadblocks.
“Makakaasa po kayo na lagi nakasuporta ang administrasyong Duterte sa mga magagandang hangarin ninyo. Sa katunayan, pasado na po, ang priority project ng pangulo na (You can count on the support of the Duterte administration on your advocacies. In fact, it has been passed, the president’s priority project of) 229 million fish port project for Navotas included in the 2019 National Expenditure Program and it is targeted to be implemented from 2019 to 2023,” he said.
In response to Go’s statements, PFDA Director Glen Pangapalan thanked the Duterte administration for considering the rehabilitation of fish port markets.
“Alam nating lahat na itong fish port ay may edad na. Nagawa ito noon panahon ni President Marcos ngayon lang talaga tayo swinerte at napagdesisyunan ng pangulo ang lahat ng Philippine operating fishports na ma-rehabilitate sa tulong po ni SAP Go (We all know that this fish port is quite old. This was established during President Marcos’ time, we got lucky now because the president decided to rehabilitate all Philippine Operating fishports with the help of SAP Go),” he said.
Pangapalan said the Navotas fish port will have a major rehabilitation with a budget for the first phase of almost PHP7 million.
“Alam nating lahat na 70 percent ng buong isda sa Metro Manila at sa kalapit bayan ay dito binabagsak sa fish port natin. Fish port natin ito, dito tayo nabubuhay, magtulungan tayo at ayusin natin ito (We all know that 70 percent of all the fishes in Metro Manila and neighboring communities. This is our fish port, let’s improve it),” he added.