Fuel aid boosts Caraga fisherfolk, supports PBBM’s food security agenda
By Mariesh F. Celedeña
BUTUAN CITY (PIA) — More than 5,500 fisherfolk in the Caraga region have received assistance from the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) under the Fuel Assistance to Fisherfolk Program (FAFP).
The FAFP is part of the government’s continuing efforts to help the fisherfolk cope with rising fuel costs while supporting the national goal of ensuring a stable food supply under the Bagong Pilipinas agenda of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. It also helps sustain their livelihoods, protect household incomes, and maintain fish production for local markets.
According to BFAR Caraga, each fisherfolk received a fuel discount card with P3,000 that they can use at any accredited fuel station near them. It completed the distribution of over P16.7 million in fuel assistance subsidies to qualified fisherfolk across the region’s five provinces, marking the full implementation of the program for eligible beneficiaries.
The agency shared that the distribution started in 2025 and was completed in June 2026. The latest distribution also covered fisherfolk who were unable to claim their assistance during earlier schedules, ensuring that no qualified beneficiary was left behind.
Meanwhile, on July 01, BFAR Caraga celebrated its 79th Founding Anniversary, renewing its commitment to deliver faster, more responsive, and people-centered services for the region’s inland and coastal fishing communities.
BFAR Caraga Director Omnia B. Olama emphasized their anniversary theme, ‘Ahensyang Aksyon Agad.’
She said, “This is a reminder that as public servants they must serve as a daily commitment to deliver timely and meaningful services to their clients who are the fisherfolk and the fishing communities across the region by providing them with timely assistance and strengthening the resilience and productivity of the fisheries sector.” (MFC, PIA Caraga with a report from BFAR Caraga)
