FISHERFOLK and civil society organizations seek to raise the dismantling order of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) at the Global People’s Summit on Food Systems.
Ronnel Arambulo, Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) spokesman, said the government is destroying the livelihood of the poor sectors with its plan to dismantle fisheries structures situated along the Cavite shore of Manila Bay.
The Global People’s Summit on Food Systems is an initiative to counter the United Nations Food Systems Summit in New York City held on Sept. 23.
“The DENR order to dismantle fisheries structures in Cavite should be the kind of policy the United Nations should stop. The fisherfolk and urban poor families are suffering because of the lockdown, and declining household incomes, but the Duterte government is hell-bent in destroying sources of food and livelihood,” Mr. Arambulo said in a statement on Thursday.
According to PAMALAKAYA, international groups also showed their support to stop the dismantling of the fisheries structures such as Andhra Pradesh Vyavsaya Vruthidarula Union (APVVU), Southeast Asia Sub-Region of the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples’ Mechanisms (CSM) for Relations with the United Nations Committee on World Food Security (CFS) and International Women’s Alliance.
The group also disclosed that lawmakers under the Makabayan bloc are set to file a house resolution to check the justification of the DENR’s dismantling order.
Anakpawis Party-list National President Ariel B. Casilao said the DENR order is a clearing operation for reclamation projects, and urged fisherfolk communities in Manila Bay to unite since it will displace their sources of livelihood.
“Instead of genuinely cleaning up the waters of Manila Bay, the DENR is busy coordinating with the local government unit to displace more fisherfolk and urban poor families relying on fisheries as livelihood,” Mr. Casilao said.
The dismantling of fishing structures in Cavite will take place on Sept. 25.
DENR previously said that the dismantling will be conducted as part of the rehabilitation efforts in Manila Bay and will not cover any mussel farms operating legally. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave