1st Fuel Depot in Pag-asa Island Set

Fisherfolks along the areas of the Kalayaan island group will be able to refuel easier as the Department of Agriculture, the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS), and other agencies on Wednesday set up Pag-asa Island’s first fuel depot.

The depot aims to alleviate the additional costs that fishers will otherwise shoulder for returning to mainland Palawan, according to Agriculture Undersecretary for Fisheries and Agri Industrialization Ching Natividad-Caballero in a virtual press briefing.

The undersecretary added that the government must continuously support local fishers, noting that the island now has thriving communities.

“This is one area that we really should be proud of because we have communities that are thriving on Pag-asa Island,” Caballero said.

The undersecretary also reported that the Philippines’ agricultural and fish production has not been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic, as they said that the country even added two million in production in 2020 when the pandemic started compared to 2019, which contributed to the country’s 92 percent rice self-sufficiency.

Caballero also added that fish unloading has increased by 37.69 percent compared to figures from February. (GFB)