Guarantee fund for fishers affected by fish kill sought

A lawmaker has called on the government to immediately establish a guarantee fund for agricultural workers such as fishermen following the fish kill incidents in Batangas and Pangasinan. In a statement issued Thursday, Butil party-list Rep. Agapito Gunlao said a guarantee fund, which will be called the State Agricultural Guarantee and Insurance Protection Funds (SAGIP) Fund under House Bill 1773, is imperative to cushion the impact of the millions of pesos lost by fishermen due to the fish kill incidents. "I wish that President Aquino will see the immediate need for this measure. We are facing constant threats to our food security... We must protect our sources of food such as the local fish industry, but we must also protect those helping produce them," Gunlao said. The party-list lawmaker compared the SAGIP Fund to the Home Guaranty or PAG-IBIG Fund to provide housing to poor Filipinos, only this time targeted towards farmers and fisherfolk. An estimated 800 metric tons of fish perished in the province of Batangas due to low levels of oxygen in the area’s waters. Similar incidents of fish kill were also reported in Pangasinan. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources pegged the amount lost due to fish kill to P3 million, causing fish pen owners and workers to have bleak hopes of profit during the harvest season. SAGIP Fund Under HB 1773, the SAGIP Fund will be initially allocated P50 billion from both the government and a private sector. A corporate body, which will be known as the SAGIP Corporation, will manage this fund. The measure proposes that the SAGIP Fund be used to provide farmers and fishermen who are members of the corporation with livestock and aquaculture insurances, loan guarantees, life insurances and social security benefits. The bill is currently pending before the House committee on government enterprises and privatization. It will have to get a majority vote of all committee members before it is tacked at the House plenary. — Andreo Calonzo/RSJ, GMA News