AN alliance of small-scale and subsistence fishermen on Thursday held a rally at the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Quezon City to call on the government to focus on providing the people with food and jobs, instead of allotting a huge budget for military spending.
The members of Pangisda Pilipinas said the Marcos administration needs to address challenges in the agriculture and fishing sector to ensure the country attains food security.
This can not be achieved if it continues to allot a huge chunk of the national budget to procuring military assets and prioritize its goal of solving the ongoing territorial disputes with China over parts of West Philippine Sea, they said
“We are not belittling the West Philippine Sea issue, but this does not mean that our government should prioritize this over the continuing hunger that many Filipinos are suffering from,” said Pablo Rosales, national president of Pangisda Pilipinas.
Rosales said various indicators showed that the country has yet to attain food security.
He said many households are unable to consume nutrient-adequate foods because they are too expensive.
“Our protest is about the increasing hunger, lack of jobs and the destruction of nature,” Rosales said.
He said the government should formulate national policies and programs to fast-track the modernization of agriculture and fishing.
