Fishers protest fuel hike as fishing resumes after monsoon

MANILA, Philippines — A fisherfolk group held a protest Tuesday morning against another round of fuel price increases, which it said would further burden small-scale fishers just as they begin returning to sea after more than three months of disrupted operations due to the southwest monsoon, or habagat.

Members of the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) staged a coastal protest in Manila Bay to denounce the latest fuel price increases.

According to the Department of Energy (DOE), gasoline prices rose by P5.68 per liter starting Sept. 15. Diesel prices also increased by P4.31 per liter, while kerosene went up by P4.62 per liter.

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Pamalakaya said small-scale fishers had only recently begun resuming operations after more than three months of what it described as an “involuntary hiatus” caused by the habagat, which had enhanced several typhoons.

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“Nagsisimula nang manumbalik ang mga mangingisda sa laot matapos ang ilang buwang hindi makapangisda dahil sa Habagat. Subalit dagdag pasanin pa rin nila ang panibago na namang taas-presyo ng produktong petrolyo sa gitna ng wala pa ring kasiguruhan sa hanapbuhay,” Pamalakaya national chairperson Fernando Hicap said in a statement.

(Fisherfolk are only beginning to return to the sea after being unable to fish for several months because of the habagat. Yet another increase in petroleum prices remains an additional burden for them amid continued uncertainty over their livelihoods.)

Higher costs, little room for income

Pamalakaya said some fisherfolk who recently returned to fishing earned only enough from their trips to cover production costs, leaving little to no income from their catch.

The group warned that the latest fuel price increase could make it even harder for small-scale fishers to recover their expenses and earn income from each fishing trip.

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“With the latest oil price hike, small fisherfolk won’t be able to recover the expenses, much less generate income,” the group said.

The group renewed its call to remove the value-added tax and excise tax on fuel, which it said add P15 to P17 per liter to fuel prices. Based on its estimate, a fisher using about 10 liters of fuel per trip could save roughly P150 per fishing operation if the two taxes were removed.

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The group also criticized government fuel assistance for vulnerable sectors, saying such support remained “elusive and insufficient.”

Pamalakaya further raised concerns over the absence of the Fuel Assistance to Fisherfolk Program in the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources’ proposed P12.2 billion budget for 2027.

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It said the program was particularly needed as fisherfolk continue to deal with rising operating costs and the effects of calamities that have disrupted their livelihood. /dm