Press Release
Department of Agriculture
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
February 25, 2014

PNoy leads awarding of newly-built fishing boats to Yolanda-hit fisherfolk in Visayas

President Benigno Aquino III spends the 28th anniversary of the EDSA People Power in Visayas and part of his itinerary is to award newly-built fishing boats to fisherfolk in coastal communities affected by the onslaught of Super Typhoon Yolanda (international cod name: Haiyan).

Together with Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, former senator and now Typhoon Yolanda rehab czar Panfilo Lacson and Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, President Aquino visited the Municipality of Bantayan in Bantayan Island, Northern Cebu to check on the progress of the rehabilitation efforts in the area. 

During his visit, the President awarded new and repaired units of fishing boats and other forms of assistance to typhoon-hit fisherfolk in the said coastal community. Located more than 130 kilometers off the shore of mainland Northern Cebu, Bantayan Island is the fourth out of six landmasses where Yolanda made landfall on November 8, 2013.

As part of its continuous efforts to rebuild central Philippines, the government through the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) launched Ahon!, a government-private sector rehabilitation initiative that has been in operation for more than three months now. Under Ahon!, a total of 449 fisherfolk in the Municipality of Bantayan were given assistance in the form of materials for boat repair such as plywood, copper nails, and marine epoxy tantamount to a value close to P1.8 million. 

In addition, 50 units of newly-built pumpboats with 5.5 hp motor engines amounting to P750,000 or P15, 000 per unit and 50 units of repaired boats that each comes with an amount of P1, 500 cash-for-work incentive; 15 tons of seaweeds seedlings; and 100 sets of fishing gears have been distributed.

Another project site under the Ahon! Initiative is in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, a fishing community of 60 barangays, mostly islands. As of February 21, 2014, a total of 7,616 beneficiaries were assisted through Ahon! in the entire Region 8.

In Guiuan, 880 beneficiaries were given assistance in the form of boat repair materials (i.e., plywood sheets, nails, epoxy, paints including engines in some cases). Of this number, a total of 332 boats are now being used for fishing. The value of the materials, cash-for-work incentives and engines given thus far has already reached P5.3 million. As for the last monitoring, another 150 beneficiaries have completed the repairs and are set to receive engine and cash incentives, bringing a total of 482 functional fishing boats in Guiuan alone.

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Republic of the Philippines
Department of Agriculture
BUREAU OF FISHERIES AND AQUATIC RESOURCES
Information and Public Relations Group
Telefax: (02) 454-5863
Mobile Number/s: 0917-8914233
Website: www.bfar.da.gov.ph