Fishers in Bicol, Mindoro Receive Basic Supplies to Help Get Through the ECQ
May 2020
Tuna fisher association members assist in packing relief goods for their fellow fishers. Photograph © WWF-Philippines
Over a thousand fisher families in Bicol and Mindoro received donations of rice and other basic supplies thanks to the fundraising efforts of field staff from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines and their hard-working partners.
Fish catch on the way to the market. With restrictions placed on cross-province transportation, fish markets across the markets have dried up under the lockdown. Photograph © Bas Umali
The current nationwide lockdown, while necessary to stop the spread of COVID-19, has caused damage to the livelihoods of farmers and fishers across the country. With limitations imposed on cross-province transportation, markets have begun to dry up. This has made it difficult for fishers to sell their catches, leaving them unable to earn.
The donations were given as aid to supplement the government rations that were handed out to help communities get through the Extended Community Quarantine (ECQ). The nation has been under lockdown ever since four COVID-19 cases were identified in Metro Manila back in March.
“It’s fulfilling for me that we were able to reach past our original target. We fed almost 1,500 families; we’d originally planned to reach only 1,000,” said WWF-Philippines Project Manager Joann Binondo. The Sustainable Tuna Partnerships program has been working to develop a sustainable supply chain for tuna in the country since 2012. For Binondo, the fishers she works with have become like family to her after almost a decade of work in the nation’s fisheries.
Binondo and her team are now raising funds for a second wave of relief goods, to be given to communities still under ECQ.
Social distancing measures remain in place as fisher families come to collect their relief goods. Binondo and her team have worked throughout the quarantine to raise funds and to buy supplies for the families of fishers in Bicol and Mindoro. Photograph © WWF-Philippines
“Seeing the smiles of our fishermen, even despite the current crisis, really makes me smile. All I can say is thank you to all of those who have supported our fishermen during these times,” added Binondo, as she offered her gratitude to donors who supported her fundraiser. Many across the country still live in the face of lost livelihood and opportunity as the lockdown progresses well into its second month. With so many at risk, WWF-Philippines’ field staff continue to do what they can to support the fishers they have worked with for almost a decade.
We would like to thank the Philippine Association of Tuna Processors, Inc. (PATPI), the Gulf of Lagonoy Tuna Fishers Federation, Inc. (GLTFFI), the Occidental Mindoro Federation of Tuna Fishers Association (OMFTFA), and the Local Government Units of Lagonoy Gulf and Mindoro Strait for making this possible.
For more information, please contact:
Ms. Joann Binondo
Sustainable Tuna Partnerships Project Manager
jbinondo@wwf.org.ph
For media arrangements, please contact:
Ms. Pam Luber
Integrated Communications Manager
pluber@wwf.org.ph
