Gov’t to speed up fishery recovery
PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Sunday vowed to speed up the recovery of the seafood sector in the northernmost province of Cagayan, which was hit by Typhoon Yinxing (Marce). “I have been worrying about the seafood growers because their beds have been destroyed. That’s what the Department of Agriculture (DA) will look into,” he […]
Tomas Kauer - Moderator 
PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Sunday vowed to speed up the recovery of the seafood sector in the northernmost province of Cagayan, which was hit by Typhoon Yinxing (Marce).
“I have been worrying about the seafood growers because their beds have been destroyed. That’s what the Department of Agriculture (DA) will look into,” he said. “Not so much into crops, but into fisheries since you are the crab capital of the Philippines.”
Mr. Marcos was speaking at a relief distribution in the province of Cagayan, which experienced howling winds that destroyed schools and government facilities.
He said the DA will help farmers and fishermen once a damage assessment is completed.
Cagayan’s central town of Buguey is considered the crab capital of North Luzon, hosting an annual Crab Festival every October.
Mr. Marcos said the Department of Education will “continue the repairs that are needed in the school buildings.”
Yinxing made landfall in the Philippines on Nov. 7, with the weather bureau warning of potentially life-threatening conditions due to destructive winds, storm surge inundation, and torrential rains.
Malacañang last week said Mr. Marcos will skip the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Summit — scheduled from Nov. 10-16 — to “prioritize domestic concerns, including government responses to calamities.”
The President also visited Ilocos Norte, another Marce-hit province, giving P50 million in financial assistance from the Office of the President to Ilocos Norte Vice Governor Cecillia Araneta-Marcos.
“The President also inspected the seawall and a school damaged by the typhoon,” the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said in a press release.
He also witnessed the distribution of P20 million through the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to local chief executives in Ilocos Norte.
“The aid from DOLE would benefit 3,895 typhoon victims,” the PCO said.
A low-pressure area that entered the Philippine area of responsibility at the weekend became a tropical depression by 8 a.m. on Nov. 9, according to the weather bureau. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
