THE Cagayan de Oro City Government will allocate P4.8 million for the establishment of a fish landing project in Bonbon village, this city, this year.
Dr. Hector San Juan, chief of the Agricultural Productivity Office (APO), said P2.8 million of the P4 million will come from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) while the City Government will allot P2 million for the realization of the project.
It can be recalled that the City Council, November last year, enacted an ordinance which authorizes Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno to enter into an agreement with the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA).
Under the agreement, the Department of Agriculture-BFAR shall provide the city with the criteria for the selection of the site for the Community Fish Landing Center (CFLC), review and approve the selection of the site for the CFLC in coordination with the PFDA, among others while the PFDA shall provide technical assistance in the preparation of the model design of the CFLC.
The city will supervise the construction of the CFLC with the assistance of BFAR and PFDA to ensure full compliance by the contractor with the approved technical and engineering design and other terms and conditions in the contract.
City Councilor Ian Nacaya, committee chair of economic enterprise, said they are still conducting public hearing with the residents in Bonbon village as to the exact location of the center.
Nacaya said a public hearing is necessary, especially that some residents will be affected with the project.
"Public land man ang paingon didto sa dagat pero ang dalan paingon lugar sa establishment mao ang problema. We are looking at relocating the residents nga maapektuhan sa maong proyekto (that will be affected by the project)," he said.
City Economic Enterprise officer Rodolfo Yana said barangay Bonbon is the chosen village for this project because it is located seaside.
The contract said the fish landing center will contain its own cold storage, fish processing center, and other standard facilities for fishing and fish storage, he added.
The project is provided under the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 which authorizes BFAR to establish post-harvest facilities for fishing communities consistent with the policy of providing support to subsistence fisheries, in the exercise of their rights to benefit from the country’s fisheries resources, especially in municipal waters.