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GenSan fishermen appeal for fuel subsidy, deferral of excise tax

By Richelyn Gubalani

June 6, 2022, 5:08 pm

<p><strong>SUBSIDIES NEEDED.</strong> A fisherman in Barangay Buayan, General Santos City, appeals for government assistance Monday (June 6, 2022) as fuel prices continue to soar. Members of the Minanga Buayan fisher group have asked the government to help them through subsidies and other provisions to ease the impact of the pandemic and fuel prices on their livelihood. <em>(Photo courtesy of Brigada News-FM Gensan)</em></p>

SUBSIDIES NEEDED. A fisherman in Barangay Buayan, General Santos City, appeals for government assistance Monday (June 6, 2022) as fuel prices continue to soar. Members of the Minanga Buayan fisher group have asked the government to help them through subsidies and other provisions to ease the impact of the pandemic and fuel prices on their livelihood. (Photo courtesy of Brigada News-FM Gensan)

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – A 300-strong fishermen group here has appealed Monday to the government to help them through subsidies amid the continued rise in fuel prices.

Ruel Libawan, a member of the Minanga Buayan Fishermen Association, said he noticed lately that his expenses for fuel has increased from PHP500 to PHP700.

“We went on fishing early Monday morning on our motored banca but returned with a small catch. It could not even pay our gasoline expense,” Libawan said in the vernacular in an interview Monday.

Guillermo Libawan, another member, said his gasoline expenses for a day costs an average of PHP500 but now have run up to PHP1,000.

“We have no catch yet as we are afraid to go far into the sea as we might run out of gasoline. We hope the government could help us,” he said.

Libawan said he has not yet heard of any government subsidy.

Meanwhile, Dominic Salazar, president of the Soccsksargen Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries Inc. (SFFAII), appealed to the next administration to suspend the implementation of value-added tax and excise tax.

Salazar said tuna fishing companies and other operators have been recording significant spikes in their operating costs due to the situation.

He said SFFAII has been meeting with the city government and other national agencies for possible remedies.

“We might be able to sustain our operations if these taxes are temporarily suspended, said Salazar, who is also the president of the tuna fishing group South Cotabato Purse-Seiners Association.

During the 20th National Tuna Congress in 2018 hosted by SFFAII, industry players passed a resolution urging the Office of the President to revisit the Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion Act or the Train law.

In particular, the called for the removal of the “excise tax on petroleum products that are directly used by the masses, otherwise, exempt such products from being imposed with the excise tax, provided the same are used for fishing and fishery activities.” (PNA)

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