ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines The Alliance of Philippine Fishing Federations, Inc. (APFFI) will ask the government for a P5 per liter discount on the price of diesel consumed by its fishing vessels.
This measure will be one of the issues the group will raise during its board meeting today with Senate President Manuel B. Villar, Jr. as guest.
In a memorandum sent to its members all over the country, APFFI president Alonso L. Tan, said the meeting will also discuss proposed amendments to the Philippine Fisheries Code.
The fuel-intensive fishery sector has been badly hit by the continued hike in fuel prices, fishing vessel owners said.
For instance, the Southern Philippines Deep Sea Fishing Association (Sophil), an APFFI member, plans to raise fish prices this month by P3 per kilogram to P25/kg from less than P22/kg currently for its members to stay afloat. As of Wednesday, the cost of diesel per liter here stood at P55.43, with the recent increase of P2 taking effect last weekend.
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There is no available data yet on the exact amount of diesel APFFI members consume, but Sophils diesel consumption stands at three million liters, worth over P150 million, per month. Fuel eats up more than 70% of operating cost, Sophil president Michael T. Lim said.
Sophil supplies at least 90% of its catch to sardine and dried fish industries here, while the other APFFI members supply fish to wet markets in Luzon and the Visayas.
APFFIs Mr. Tan also asked a representative from each of the regions to present to Mr. Villar problems with the governments marine and fishing agencies, to see if there is a need to amend some laws. Darwin T. Wee, BusinessWorld