MANILA, Philippines — A fishers group called on the Department of Agriculture (DA) to suspend the importation of 35,000 metric tons of galunggong and other fish this October and provide financial assistance to the traders.

Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) said that local fisherfolk would suffer more financially as they had already depressed the farmgate rates to compete with the market prices of the imported fish.

“Giit namin sa DA na huwag ituloy ang planong importasyon, at maglaan na lamang ng signipikanteng pondo para sa pagpapalakas ng lokal na produksyon, tulad ng subsidyo sa mga mangingisda,” PAMALAKAYA vice chairperson Ronnel Arambulo said in a statement. 

(We call on the DA to suspend the planned importation and instead allot significant fund to boost the local production, such as the subsidy for fishermen)

The fisherfolk group previously reported that some traders lowered the prices to P100 per kilogram for galunggong (mackerel scad) and P80 per kilogram for bonito. 

It also pointed out that imported fish may have come from the Philippine waters, as the DA planned to source it from Vietnam and China. 

According to Arambulo, both nations fish in the country's major open seas, such as in Mindoro and Palawan provinces, and the West Philippine Sea. 

“Malaki ang posibilidad na ang aangkatin nating isda mula sa China at Vietnam ay nanggaling [din] sa sarili nating pangisdaan... Malaking insulto ito sa atin bilang isang bansang arkipelago,” Arambulo, also a Makabayan senatorial candidate, stated. 

(There's a huge possibility that the imported fish will come from China and Vietnam will also come from our own country... This is a huge insult to us as an archipelago)

He also called for the consumers to harbor local fish and reject the imported ones. 

The thousand metric tons of galunggong and other fish are expected to arrive in the third week of this month. — Internhiuslots, Bianca Ysabel Abrencillo

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