IN NEED OF HELP. Roger Quibec, a fisherman in Orion, Bataan, shows his worn-out fishing net as he appealed for assistance from the government on Tuesday (March 15, 2022). He asked the government to help them through subsidies and the provision of fishing nets amid the rising fuel prices. (Photo by Ernie Esconde)
ORION, Bataan – Some fishermen here on Tuesday appealed to the government to help them through subsidies and the provision of fishing nets while the prices of fuel continue to rise.
Joel David said he used to spend PHP100 to PHP150 for gasoline when fishing but with the oil price hike, his expenses doubled.
“Ang iba hindi na lumalabas kinabukasan dahil wala ng pangbili ng gasolina dahil bukod sa talo, wala pang huli (Others no longer go fishing the following day because they have no more money to buy gasoline because aside from spending so much on fuel, they did not catch fish),” David said.
Roger Quibec said his gasoline expense for a day used to be PHP600 to PHP700 but now it has reached PHP800 to PHP1,000.
“Tuloy-tuloy kami sa pangingisda pero mahina huli ngayon dahil sa panahon. Lugi kaya kailangan namin ng tulong ng gobyerno (We keep on fishing but we catch only a few fish due to the weather. We are not earning thus we need assistance from the government),” he said.
Quibec said he has not heard of any news about whether the government will grant them subsidies.
“Sana mabigyan ang mga mangingisda dito (Hopefully, the fishermen here will be given subsidy),” he said.
Showing the worn-out fishing net he was repairing, Quibec also appealed for new nets for needy fishermen. (PNA)
