Opposition lawmakers have called for a congressional inquiry into reports that the Department of Agriculture (DA) had allowed the importation of “galunggong” or round scad.
House Minority Leader Rep. Danilo Suarez (3rd District, Quezon) principally authored House Resolution 2113 calling for an investigation on the importation of “galunggong”, once considered as the poor man’s fish.
Suarez urged the House Committee on Agriculture and Food to invite the officials of DA, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and leaders of fishermen groups.
Suarez said the House should investigate the reports that the local market has been opened to imported fish because the domestic fish catch has been declining.
Citing reports, Suarez said a big part of the country’s galunggong supply now comes from either China or Taiwan, as reported by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).
Suarez expressed apprehension over the report of the BFAR that the country imported large quantities of galunggong, representing a big volume of the 900,000 metric tons of fish being imported by the Philippines from China and Taiwan.
Suarez revealed that the DA and BFAR were compelled to open the domestic market to imported fish because fish catch continued to decline due to over exploitation of the fishing grounds.
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