Cynthia Villar questions proposed department of fisheries

Senator Cynthia Villar on Monday questioned the proposed conversion of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource (BFAR) into a department.

At a Senate hearing on BFAR's order banning the sale of imported pampano and pink salmon in wet markets, Senator Raffy Tulfo asked the resource persons' view on the idea of making a department for fisheries and aquatic resources, as originally raised by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, to address the problems in the sector.

Tulfo raised the idea at the Senate hearing because he observed that BFAR receives a lower budget compared to other bureaus in the Department of Agriculture.

"The reason that I said that is kasi mukhang napapabayana kayo. Mukhang kayo ang miyembro ng pamilya na hindi po minamahal," Tulfo said.

Villar, chairperson of the Senate agriculture, food, and agrarian reform committee and sponsor of the DA's annual budget, quickly expressed her disagreement with Tulfo's observation, saying BFAR has been given funding but they were not doing its duty.

"Di totoo yon...talagang ang Pilipinas po is limited ang resources niya. So hinahati hati sa lahat. Kung mayaman tayong bansa okay lang yon na bigyan natin ng pera," she said.

As an example, Villar said the Congress passed a law for the creation of 41 fish hatcheries but BFAR did not implement it.

"Pinasa po namin 41 since 2016... Ngayon lang bini-build e. Kung 'di pa ako nagalit nung 2019, hindi pa sila magbi-build ng fish hatchery," she said.

"Two-way process to. Kung kami natutuwa sa inyo, paglalaban namin kayo e hindi ninyo naman pinaglalaban nang tunay ang mga fisherfolks. Kaya bakit natin ipaglalaban? Tapos gusto pa mag-create ng department," she said.

Villar explained that 55% of the budget for the creation of a department will go to the personnel services and overhead cost and only 45% will go to actual services.

"Kapag crineate niyo yan, katakot takot na gastos yan-- 55% of the cost of a department is PS and overhead, 45% lang ang ibibigay sa mga tao na hindi pa binibigay sa mga tao," she said.

"Bakit pa ako matutuwa na nagke-create ng department?" she went on.

After Villar raised her points, Tulfo said creating the department is a "bright idea" which should be explored.

"For me, it's a bright idea, something to explore pag-aralan po siguro natin. It's about time na dapat we have to have an open mind dito for the sake of the Filipino people," he said.

Atty. Asis Perez, former director of BFAR, expressed support for the conversion of the bureau into a department even though he acknowledged the need to rightsize the bureaucracy.

"This has been the advocacy for a long time and we continue to espouse this advocacy although we agree that there's a need to rationalize government size," Perez said. —NB, GMA Integrated News