Dinagat Islands fisherfolk association thrives through BFAR’s barangay savings club
By Renelle L. Escuadro
BUTUAN CITY (PIA) — The members of the Arellano Fisherfolk Association (ARFA) in Barangay Arellano, Libjo, Province of Dinagat Islands continue to grow and thrive with the help of its Barangay Savings Club that turned a simple savings practice into a shared financial resource that members build over time.
The Barangay Savings Club is a regular contribution from members and savings initiative introduced by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) under the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program Phase II that encouraged members to save regularly, manage their resources responsibly, and establish a community emergency fund.
They started contributing P20 to P100 weekly, and their first savings cycle from August to December 2024 reached P68,000 through contributions that they pooled, recorded, and managed collectively.
For families whose income can fluctuate with weather, catch, operating costs, and household needs, the savings initiative created a financial reserve while encouraging members to participate consistently in managing their collective resources.
๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐, ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
According to the Dinagat Islands Provincial Fisheries Office, ARFA strengthened the practice in 2025 by increasing weekly contributions from P50 to P250 per share, raising collective savings to P160,000 by June and P340,000 by December, with 53 active members participating.
BFAR SAAD Phase II, on the other hand, continued its livelihood support on June 4, 2025, when the program provided 25 additional marine engines and complete fishing gear, eventually extending marine engine assistance to all 52 original ARFA members.
It added that as more fisherfolk recognized the value of joining an organized association, ARFA’s membership grew from its original 52 members to 67, expanding the group’s participation and community reach. “The growing membership and savings base showed how livelihood assistance could be reinforced by active participation, with members contributing not only to their individual fishing activities but also to the collective resources of the association.”
๐๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ถ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด
The fisherfolk association shared that it sustained the momentum in 2026 by starting a new savings cycle in January and accumulating more than P500,000 by September, while continuing to manage the changing income conditions associated with fishing.
With additional government support in June 2026 that brought 15 more marine engines and complete fishing gear, and a BFAR regular project that provided a high-density polyethylene fish cage, it opened another livelihood option through aquaculture.
ARFA shared that on August 14, it stocked the fish cage with 6,000 bangus fingerlings, marking its move toward a more diversified livelihood system that requires members to coordinate production and share responsibility for managing the operation.
Together, these initiatives allowed the group to build beyond capture fishing while continuing the organizational and savings practices established through its earlier livelihood activities.
Through collective savings, expanded membership, and diversified livelihood activities supported in part by BFAR’s SAAD Program Phase II, ARFA earned recognition during the 63rd Fish Conservation Week closing ceremony, strengthening the livelihoods of fisherfolk families and coastal communities in Barangay Arellano.
R๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ด๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ
That continuing effort earned ARFA a Gawad Pasasalamat Award during the closing ceremony of the 63rd Fish Conservation Week celebration in Butuan City on September 17 wherein the association chairperson Jonathan Ecleo represented the group and received the recognition on behalf of its members.
Ecleo expressed gratitude for the government’s support. “Thank you BFAR SAAD Caraga for the recognition, og sa tanan tumatabang sa grupo ( and to all who helped our group),” he said.
He shared that a significant part of ARFA’s recent progress came through its partnership with the BFAR under the program on SAAD Phase II, which provided livelihood assistance while helping the association strengthen collective action and financial management.
“For families in the rural barangay of Arellano, fishing has long provided food and income, but changing fishing conditions and growing household needs have encouraged ARFA to strengthen our livelihood through organization, savings, and shared opportunities,” Ecleo added.
๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ
For the fisherfolk of Arellano, this year’s Gawad Pasasalamat Award represented the shared work behind the milestones, including the members who continued saving, the leaders who guided the association, and the families who participated in activities that strengthened their community.
From P20 weekly savings to more than P500,000, from 52 to 67 members, and from livelihood assistance to a 6,000-fingerling bangus activity, ARFA’s journey reflected how sustained participation can turn individual opportunities into shared community resources.
For BFAR SAAD Caraga, the recognition therefore went beyond the assistance received, it reflected the continued participation of ARFA members who organized, contributed, managed resources, and built on each opportunity available to their association.
“Rather than measuring progress only through the assistance received, ARFA continued each opportunity through regular savings, livelihood management, membership expansion, and exploration of another source of income beyond captured fishing,” the agency said. (RLE, PIA Dinagat Islands with a report from BFAR SAAD Caraga)
