ANTIQUE – The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Region 6 will provide repair materials worth P10,000 each to 200 fisherfolk whose boats were badly damaged during the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm “Paeng” in the last week of October.
BFAR Antique head Richard Cordero, in an interview Friday, said they were finalizing the damage report for the BFAR central office to provide repair materials so the fishermen can resume their livelihood.
“Based on our initial report, there are 600 fisherfolk whose fishing boats were damaged, but we are prioritizing only 200 of them who really need the repair materials,” he said.
Cordero added that 50 units of 30-footer fiberglass boats costing around P130,000 each with engine and underwater fittings will be distributed to other fisherfolk before the end of this year or early next year.
The BFAR central office has already made an emergency purchase of the repair materials such as plywood and nails to be provided to identified beneficiaries in the province.
With the provision, the affected fisherfolk need not worry about the difficulty of transportation since the repair materials will be sent to the San Jose Fishing Port for those affected in the southern part of Antique.
The transport of goods from Iloilo province to Antique is difficult. The damaged bridge in Barangay Oyungan in Miag-ao town, and also the bridge over Paliwan River that connects the municipalities of Bugasong and Laua-an towns in northern Antique are both still impassable.
The Oyungan Bridge connects Iloilo to Antique while the bridge over the Paliwan River is the route going to Caticlan, Aklan province.
Meanwhile, the Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC), during its two-day caravan of services to the geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA) of Hamtic and Sibalom towns, distributed rubber slippers, water containers, used clothing, relief packs, school materials aside from their medical-dental services, free medicines, and other various services to the residents affected by “Paeng”.
The caravan of services, which ended on Thursday, had benefited around 1,000 residents of barangays Bongbongan, Pili, Sulok, Botbot, Tandayag, Igpasungao, Linaban, and Durog in Hamtic. (PNA)PN
