FUEL DISCOUNT CARDS. Qualified fishers in Candelaria, Zambales show the fuel discount cards that they received from the Department of Agriculture - Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources on Thursday (Aug. 25, 2022). A total of 430 fishers from the town received PHP3,000 in fuel subsidy each, which they could use to purchase gasoline for their fishing operations. (Photo courtesy of BFAR-3)
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Another group of fisherfolk in the province of Zambales has benefited from the government’s fuel subsidy program that aims to ease the impact of rising oil prices on the local fishing industry.
Wilfredo Cruz, director of the Department of Agriculture - Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) 3 (Central Luzon), said on Friday that 430 fishers from Candelaria town received PHP3,000 in fuel subsidy each on Thursday in the form of discount cards, which they could use to purchase gasoline for their fishing operations.
Last June, 750 qualified fishers in Zambales from the municipalities of San Narciso, San Antonio, Cabangan, Iba, and Botolan also received fuel discount cards.
The fuel discount program in the region was launched in Subic, Zambales in March wherein 200 fisherfolk received the government subsidy.
Cruz said of the 6,709 fisherfolk-beneficiaries from Central Luzon, 3,352 were from Zambales.
To avail of the fuel subsidy, eligible fisherfolk and/or members of fisherfolk cooperatives and associations must be registered under the fisherfolk registration program or FishR.
They must be using motorized boats with a capacity of three gross tons or below and registered under the boat registration program or BoatR and must be using environment-friendly fishing gears.
Meanwhile, BFAR-3 awarded the town of Candelaria with PHP2 million and a plaque of recognition for winning the regional level of the BFAR 2020 Malinis at Masaganang Karagatan (MMK) search for the outstanding coastal community.
The MMK search aims to recognize the outstanding initiatives and contributions of coastal municipalities or cities to sustainable fisheries management. (PNA)
