Government officials and fishermen ate seafood for lunch at the Navotas fishport on Wednesday to show the public that fish and other marine products brought to Metro Manila's major seafood market are safe for consumption.
A radio dzMM report said officials of the Navotas local government headed by Mayor Toby Tiangco, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), the Department of Agriculture, ate fish with some members of the media at the fishport.
Tiangco said the lunch was held to assure the public that fish coming from Navotas fishport are safe from endosulfan contamination.
The mayor added that fish brought to the fishport could not have taken a bite of bloated bodies inside the sunken M/V Princess of the Stars in Romblon province since bulk of the deliveries come from Palawan and some parts of Mindanao.
He added that fish from Romblon are rarely delivered to the fishport. He said the typhoon-ravaged province has never been a "fishing ground" for supplies in Metro Manila.
Fish from Romblon had been reportedly banned from markets due to a fish scare.
Consumers fear that fish being sold in the markets, including those in Metro Manila, are contaminated with the highly toxic pesticide endosulfan and had eaten human flesh.
Dozens of bloated bodies had been spotted inside the sunken ship. It sank off Sibuyan Island last June 21 with 866 passengers and crew.
Last week, the government task force formed for the retrieval operations discovered a 10-metric ton cargo of endosulfan sank with the passenger vessel.
The BFAR has been easing fears of the public following the fish scare. It said fish from Romblon is not contaminated.