COTABATO CITY: The Philippine Fisheries Development Authority has allocated close to P200 million for the construction of fish ports in seven coastal municipalities in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Eduardo Chu, PFDA general manager, told media the move “is a part of a comprehensive peace and development intervention for the economic recovery and development of Muslim Mindanao, considered a depressed, distressed and underserved area. Chu added the project seeks to help uplift the living condition of the region’s indigenous tribes of Maranao, Tausug, Yakan, Iranon, Maguindanaon and Samal.
The municipal fish ports, he said, will be established in Sumisip town in Basilan; Buluan and Mangudadatu in Maguindanao; Parang in Sulu, Panglima Sugala in Tawi-Tawi and the cities of Lamitan, Basilan, and Marawi, Lanao del Sur. Once completed, each of the ports would provide over 500 direct jobs and would be capable of handling 25 tons of marine products daily, Chu said. He added that part of the project implementation is the training of personnel on port operation and maintenance for the eventual turnover of the management, supervision and administration of the MFPs to the concerned local government units.
He noted that Lamitan, Sumisip, Parang and Panglima Sugala teem with high-value marine products like tuna, tanguigue and tamban (sardine fish) even as Marawi and Buluan are along the boarders of fish-rich Lake Lanao. Chu said each of the seven ARMM MFPs would later be provided with ice plants and cold storage facilities to supply the ice requirements of the local fishing industry.
