Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said increased funding for fisheries under the 2026 Department of Agriculture (DA) budget is a first step toward a long-overdue recognition that fishers are among the most food-insecure sectors in the country, despite being key food producers.
The bicameral committee raised the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) budget by over ₱600 million from the House version to ₱11.76 billion.
“Malayo pa ito sa katotohanan kumpara sa kailangang budget para sa ating mga mangingisda. Hindi lang mahirap ang napakahalaga nilang trabaho, may banta pa mula sa mga dayuhan ang mga nasa West Philippine Sea. Pero kahit papano, nauumpisahan nang pansinin ang kanilang kalagayan (This is still far from the budget needed for our fishers. Their essential job is not only very hard, those in the West Philippine Sea also face risks from foreigners. But at least, the focus on their plight has begun),” said Pangilinan, who is a bicam panel member as Vice Chairperson of the Committee on Finance.
“Gusto nating magkaroon ng momentum ang pagtaas ng pondo para sa kanila. Mahirap itulak ang seguridad sa pagkain kung dine-deadma ang mga nagdadala ng pagkain mula sa dagat. Frontliner ang ating mga mangingisda, pero marami sa kanila ang gutom (We want to build momentum for increasing funds for them. It’s difficult to realize food security if the people who bring food from the sea are ignored. Fishers are frontliners, yet many of them go hungry),” said Pangilinan, who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform..
Latest Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) basic sector data from 2023 rank fisherfolk among the country’s poorest groups, with a poverty incidence of about 27.4% — about one in three fishers — alongside indigenous peoples and farmers. While overall poverty declined in many sectors between 2021 and 2023, fisherfolk continue to lag behind, reflecting how broad economic growth and generic anti-poverty programs have failed to reach coastal communities.
“Ayon sa PSA, mula 2018 hanggang 2021, sa lahat ng batayang sektor, pinakamataas din ang pagtaas ng kahirapan sa mga mangingisda (According to the PSA, from 2018 to 2021, among basic sectors, fisherfolk also recorded the biggest increase in poverty incidence),” Pangilinan said, adding that poverty incidence among fisherfolk rose 4.4 percentage points due to economic and pandemic-related shocks.
Studies and nutrition surveys further also show deep food insecurity in fishing households, with higher rates of underweight, thin, and stunted children compared to non-fisherfolk families.
Notable increases for BFAR’s 2026 budget were for monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS) to combat illegal fishing, and a new ₱150-million allocation for mobile water treatment and desalination systems for fishing households.
BFAR’s MCS funding rose from ₱1.08 billion to ₱1.41 billion, reflecting stronger enforcement against illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
The senator said that proper spending of the budget must be sustained.
“Kumokonti ang huli at tumataas ang presyo ng pagkaing-dagat dahil sa illegal fishing. Hindi luho ng likas-yaman ang ipagtanggol ang ating karagatan. Pangangailangan ito para sa seguridad sa pagkain (Fish stocks decline and seafood prices rise due to illegal fishing. Protecting our seas is not an environmental luxury; it is a food security necessity),” Pangilinan said.
“Kung magpapatuloy ang iligal na pangingisda, tataas ang presyo ng bilihin, babagsak ang kita, at lalala ang gutom (If illegal fishing continues, prices rise, incomes fall, and hunger worsens),” he added.