Ecology and the Environment.

The party believes that we must protect our ecology and environment from further degradation.

The party is looking at focusing on protecting our marine resources. Seventy percent of our sovereign territory is marine. We are the center of the center of marine bio-diversity in the world yet we are doing our best to destroy it and also to deplete the fish stocks in our seas.

We need to replant and protect our mangrove forests. We need to protect our reefs. We have to stop polluting our inland seas.

The BPO party fully supports the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas Act of 2017. However, we believe this Act does not fully address the rapidly deteriorating state of our marine resources.

Though the country recently posted a small increase in fish harvest, this was gained from farmed stocks such as tilapia and bangus. However, tonnages in the landings of wild fish stocks continue to decline. In metro-manila we are seeing unprecedented prices for staple seafood such as galunggong, hasahasa and sardines, all first class seafood like lapu-lapu, tanguinge, squid, talakitok and dorado are now more expensive than beef.

The fact is, our stocks are rapidly dwindling due to unrestricted and indiscriminate harvesting. The average catch of our small fishermen within the 15 kilometer LGU fishing zone is down to less than two kilos a day, barely enough to feed a family of two adults and four children. Our small fishermen have over fished our waters and now they termed as the poorest of the poor.

We must allow our fish stocks to re-populate by mandating no-fishing holidays for periods of up to five years in critically depleted areas.

To make this happen, we need to provide daily sustenance to those fishermen who will be asked to stop fishing, temporarily. We are looking at expanding coverage of the DSWDs 4P’s program to cover the needs of these fishermen.

Once a fishing ban is declared on a specific area, we are looking at empowering the BFAR with the resources needed to implement the ban, to seek appropriation for additional boats, radar and manpower to police the waters.

We need to strengthen our laws specific to penalizing violations in fisheries rules and regulations and to provide the necessary funds to implement them.

In the interim of such a ban, we will help the BFAR, DTI, DOST/TESDA and DOT encourage and implement a shift to alternative forms of livelihood for the fishermen such as carrageenan/seaweed farming, handicrafts, eco-tourism and other income generating activities.

Our seas are there for all our countrymen, we must preserve it for our children and for future generations.