THE SOCSKSARGEN Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries, Inc. (SFFAII) announced this month that beginning September-November 2020, in lieu of the 22nd National Tuna Congress, they will mount the Virtual Forum, “Oras ng Mananagat Sa Panahon ng Pandemya”.
According to SFFAII president Andrew Philip Yu,“Oras ng Mananagat has been arrived at after careful assessment of the situation nationally, regionally, and globally amidst the pandemic”.
“With the global health crisis afflicting all economies and impacting the Philippines with a projected 6% economic contraction, the fishing industry must keep watch, stand strong, and stay united to ensure that the industry’s areas of concerns and pressing issues are properly and thoroughly deliberated and acted by all stakeholders together with our local, regional, and international partners”, Yu added.
“We need to proactively engage the government and our stakeholders to keep our industry alive, effectively running, and economically relevant”, said SFFAII executive director Rosanna Bernadette Contreras.
“Now, more than ever, the fishing industry must press on and move forward while pushing the culture of safety to ensure that we can sustain our contribution to the Philippine economy and provide livelihood to a significant number of Filipinos,” Yu explained further.
The virtual forum takes place twice a month for 3 months. Each session consists of two parts: first part features presentation by resource speakers while second part highlights sponsor-partners. An open forum follows each presentation.
Here’s the tentative schedule: a) September 16, 2020 – How is the Tuna Industry Coping; Results of Inter-Agency Monitoring on Compliance with Interim Guidelines on Workplace Prevention and Control of COVID; b) September 30, 2020 – How is the Aquaculture Industry Coping; c) October 14, 2020 – Local Government Units’ Move to Ensure Fishery and Aquaculture Food Resiliency; d) October 28, 2020 – Philippine Tuna Operations in the Exclusive Economic Zone and High Seas Pocket 1; Status of Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific; e) November 11, 2020 – Fisheries Improvement Projects in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; and f) November 25, 2020 – How are the Women in Fisheries and Aquaculture Coping.
Meanwhile, a portion of the proceeds of Oras ng Mananagat will directly support SFFAII’s existing CSR initiatives for fisherfolks, the marginalized, and those hit by disasters.
For those interested, you can email the Secretariat at orasngmananagat@gmail.com or sffaii1999@yahoo.com.
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In an interview over Kwentas Klaras Thursday morning, I had the pleasure of interacting with Boholana DTI Assistant Secretary Asteria ‘Aster’ Cabagnot Caberte.
I have met Asec Aster in 2013 while she was head of DTI-Bohol and I was serving Bohol I Electric Cooperative, Inc. (BOHECO I) as Consultant. The series of meetings was occasioned by the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that hit Bohol in October 2013. I reported on the status of restored distribution lines and re-energized municipalities served by BOHECO I following the devastation wrought by the earthquake.
Asec. Caberte zeroed in on Bohol’s economy which is tourism driven. She agrees that there is a need to open Bohol to domestic tourism to help the economy recover, which she admits, will particularly help the micro, small, and medium enterprises that are embedded in the value chain of tourism, and are under her care.
In the same interview, Caberte mentioned that on Aug. 12, 2020, all governors of the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor in Central Visayas, will meet in Siquijor, to discuss among others, common tourism concerns, to revive the region’s economy.
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
Psalm 121 KJV
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
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For comments, you may reach the writer at belca.87@gmail.com. Author is on Twitter @ShilohRuthie./PN
