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BFAR to open provincial office in northern Palawan

By Celeste Anna Formoso

July 6, 2018, 9:19 pm

<p>A fishing community in Coron, northern Palawan. <em>(File photo of Celeste Anna R. Formoso)</em></p>

A fishing community in Coron, northern Palawan. (File photo of Celeste Anna R. Formoso)

 

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan –- The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is set to open its provincial office in Coron town soon to bring services closer to coastal communities in northern Palawan.

BFAR Assistant Regional Director Roberto Abrera said Friday in a phone interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA) that the construction of the PHP5-million three-storey office building is now ongoing on Uson Island, Coron, facing the town of Busuanga.

It is being constructed on the 13-hectare property of the BFAR in the said municipality, where a PHP50-million training center is also being built.

“Ginagawa na itong building ngayon para magkaroon tayo ng provincial office sa northern Palawan para iyong mga mangingisda doon di na kailangan pang pumunta sa Puerto Princesa para sa mga kailangan nila sa BFAR (It is now being constructed for us to have a provincial office in northern Palawan so that fishermen there need not go to Puerto Princesa for their transactions with BFAR),” Abrera said.

Once completed, the BFAR provincial office will cater to Coron and the municipalities of Linapacan, Busuanga, Culion, Agutaya, and others nearby. 

Abrera said further they are looking at equipping the future provincial office with a cyanide detection test (CDT) laboratory to respond to the need of the government for a reliable enforcement tool against cyanide use in the live fish industry.

“Yan ang tinignan natin na dapat din na mailagay sa provincial office na ito para iyong mga nagbu-buhay-buhay ay di na dadalhin ang mga samples nila sa Puerto Princesa na napakalayo (That is what we are considering to also have in the provincial office for those who are in the live fish industry so they won’t bring their samples to Puerto Princesa that is quite far from them),” he added.

Abrera said in December 2017, they had turned over to the municipal government of Coron a PHP3-million community fish landing center (CFLC) to improve the socioeconomic conditions of fishing communities in Coron to prevent the high poverty incidence.

He explained it is part of President Rodrigo Duterte’s commitment to deliver precise interventions and promote inclusive growth in the fishery sector.

“Nauna nang natapos ang kanilang community fish landing, at nakita natin na nagkaroon na sila ng maayos na facility at storage ng marine products (We have completed first the community fish landing and we saw that they now have a facility for storing marine products),” he added.

The fish landing center is located in Barangay Decabobo, and is equipped with a cold storage facility and eight stainless stalls. (PNA)

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