SC verdict on ‘hulbot-hulbot’ ban a big win for Defensor

“Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.”

Henry David Thoreau

By Alex P. Vidal

WE are glad that Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Sr. also mentioned, albeit briefly, in his State of the Province Address (Sopa) the recent Supreme Court decision that affirmed the ban on hulbot-bulbot not only in Iloilo, but also off the coasts all over the archipelago.  

In a move to protect the country’s natural marine resources, Defensor pledged for the total ban of hulbot-hulbot early in 2013.

“Recently, our Supreme Court affirmed the validity of Fishery Administrative Order 246 banning the operation of the super hulbots or the modified Danish seine. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources issued this upon our prodding,” Defensor declared in the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Board) Session Hall August 26.

“Our Bantay Dagat has relentlessly campaigned against this destructive fishing method. I have already called a coordination meeting among enforcement agencies like the BFAR, the Philippine Coast Guard and the Maritime Command to work together and enforce FAO 246 to the letter.”

UNKNOWN

Unknown to most people all over the country, it was Defensor who goaded Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Proceso Alcala to issue an order banning hulbot-hulbot or Danish seine fishing in the Philippine waters.

Alcala thus signed Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO) 246, series of 2013, banning Danish seine and modified Danish seine on September 12, 2013.

Danish seine fishing involves throwing a large rock tied to a net into the sea and dragging it underwater.

The method destroys the country’s marine resources, warned the Iloilo governor, who was regularly briefed by Provincial Administrator Raul Banas, a former mayor of Concepcion, a coastal town in northern Iloilo where illegal fishing has been rampant.

Section 2 of the FAO 246 provides that “it shall be unlawful for any person to operate municipal and commercial fishing boats using Danish seine and Modified Danish seine in catching fish in Philippine waters.”

Persons, associations, cooperatives, partnerships or corporation engaged in Danish seine have six months from the effectively of the order to restructure or convert the same to other legitimate fishing gears.

Violation of the order will face imprisonment from two to ten years and a fine not less than P100,000 to P500,000 or both fine and imprisonment. 
The boat and gear will also be confiscated.

ALLOWED

Before the issuance of FAO 246, the Bureau in Fisheries Administrative Order No. 222, series of 2003, allowed the operation of modified Danish seine in waters beyond 15 kilometers from the shoreline of any municipality.

However, it was learned that it shall not use tom weights or any method or accessories that can destroy coral reefs, sea grass beds and other marine habitats.

The minimum mesh size of the net shall not also be less than three centimeters, it was learned further.

This fishing gear, also known as palisot, pasangko, bira-bira, hulahoop, is a fishing device which consists of a conical shaped net with a pair of wings, the ends of which are connected to two ropes with buri, plastic strips or any similar material to serve as scaring/herding device with hauling ropes passing through a metallic ring permanently attached to a tom weight (linggote) when hauled into a fishing boat.

Hulbot-hulbot is now officially banned off the Philippines coasts and our coral reefs and sea grass beds will not be spared from its mayhem.

For this, we doff our hats off to Secretary Alcala, Governor Defensor, the Supreme Court, the BFAD, our law enforcers at sea and all those who risked their lives and livelihood to nip hulbot-hulbot in the bud.

Does our chicken still have ‘joy’?

“The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.” Arnold H. Glasow

By Alex P. Vidal

To confirm if there is still “joy” in our favorite chicken, it pays to move our butts, to explore and discover the truth.

After all, there’s no substitute for an ocular visit. To see is to believe. There is truth in actual bite.

A most recent check in our favorite fast food restaurant that specializes in chicken nuggets, hotdogs, fries and hamburger, among other short meals inside a big mall in La Paz district, Iloilo City dismissed our fears that the closure of 72 other fast food stores in Metro Manila the other week would spark a domino effect down the Visayas and Mindanao areas.

We also confirmed that there was no truth to rumors that chickens have staged a nationwide walk out and protest, and are no longer keen to provide us viands and take-out pulutan.

And, yes, there was still “joy” in our chicken; “chicken joy” was still very much available in the menu.

No chicken boycott. No dietary upheaval. No closure jitters in the Visayas and Mindanao. No problem.

TEMPORARY

The abrupt closure in Metro Manila, albeit temporary, sent chilling effects mostly to Ilonggo kids mesmerized not only with the store’s oily, sweet and cholesterol-inducing meals, but also with the life-sized worm-like mascot that has captured the imagination of both the children and grown-ups from all walks of life.

The reason put forward for the temporary closure was “due to the lack of popular menu items at its outlets.”

“The product limitation has been caused by the migration to new systems that started on August 1, 2014, which has resulted in temporary slowdown in sales order taking, product loading and dispatch of transportation,” the store management said in its statement.

The store and its franchisee partners “express their apology to their customers for the disappointment and inconvenience caused by not finding their favorite products in the stores or by seeing their nearby stores temporarily closed,” the company added in the statement.

BEST

“The organization is doing its best to restore the availability of all its products to normal levels in the next few days, to reopen temporarily closed stores and to restore its excellent service to its

customers.”

The issue, it turned out, was not about “chicken uprising” or shortage of chicken, it was learned. It was about “port congestion” in Metro Manila, suggested the Department of Agriculture.

There are billions of chicken, a domesticated fowl, and their population is rapidly growing day by day, thus the issue of shortage isn’t valid.

In fact, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird. Since time immemorial, humans keep chickens primarily as a source of food, consuming both their meat and their eggs.

Even the DA has confirmed that there are three million kilos of surplus chicken in the country and 700,000 kilos of imported chicken.

FARMS

We learned later that many farms in Southern Luzon that supplied chicken to Metro Manila were also affected by Typhoon Glenda (Rammasun), thus forcing the DA to order chicken from farther away regions, causing delivery delays.

It will take a few months before the supply of chicken to Metro Manila and nearby provinces will go back to normal, the agriculture department announced. Chicken prices might only roll back to P120 per kilo in December, it was reported.

There we have it. The real score in as far as the issue of chicken--and the "joy" of having it on our menu, is concerned.

The next time our friends will ask if our chicken still has “joy”, we will know what to answer.