Tulfo slams DA over fish imports amid oversupply, spoilage

Senator Raffy Tulfo criticized the Department of Agriculture (DA) for issuing special importation permits for fish and seafood products amidst an existing oversupply in the country.

This has led to spoilage in areas like General Santos and Bohol due to insufficient cold storage.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. stated that Ako Bicol Party-list Representative Zaldy Co allegedly pressured him to issue permits for 3,000 containers of fish imports for three companies, which he rejected.

Navotas City Representative Toby Tiangco defended the fish import allocation for Trans-Pacific Journey Fishing Corp., owned by his family, asserting it is "very fair and scientific" and based on a policy in place since 2018.

Tiangco acknowledged that the government imports fish to stabilize prices and supply.

The DA is now implementing tighter controls, basing import allocations on previous-year performance and mandating unloading only at PFDA ports for better monitoring, as a result of the surge in imports due to loose rules.

Fish imports significantly increased from 1.41 million metric tons (P64.15 billion) between 2011-2016 to 2.37 million metric tons (P163.76 billion) from 2017-2022.