GENERAL SANTOS CITY(18 February 2014) – City Mayor Ronnel Rivera is in partnership with the Mindanao State University-General Santos City (MSU-GSC) and the local fishing industry in trying to get an additional P200 million from Senate Committee Head on Agriculture and Food Senator Cynthia Villar.
During a meeting Monday (February 17), the city mayor disclosed to MSU-GSC Chancellor Abdurrahman Canacan and GenSan's fishing magnates that he is interested on utilizing the P200 million to develop further the city’s fishing industry in its bid to become “more than just the Tuna capital of the Philippines."
Rivera asked everyone's cooperation in coming up with sustainable project proposals that would specify the advancement of the fishing industry of the city.
"We need to justify to the higher ups that we need the auxiliary budget for GenSan to improve its fishing sales in the global market which in turn, will provide sustainable economy in the country," Rivera said.
Mayor Rivera said that this move will also help address the challenges that the fishing industry has been facing for years, especially in the presence of the South Pacific Tuna Treaty.
During the Economic Summit last October 2013, Rivera expressed that he wanted to diversify GenSan's economy and move away from its heavy reliance on the fishing sector, but the mayor clarified that development aid for the industry must still be advanced as an anchor to the city's growth.
Chancellor Canacan of MSU-GSC suggested that revolutionizing a new curriculum for the marine and fishing courses will be a good threshold for the said project.
Canacan said that only a few undergraduates are taking interest in enrolling in fishing related courses, and may have been the reason why the industry is still suffering.
According to Canacan, MSU-GSC has the highest turn out of enrollees in marine courses in the Philippines, but the number is still very low because it never became a trend venue.
Marfin Tan, president of the SocSKSarGen Fishing Federation and Allied Industries Inc., agreed with Canacan's suggestions and added that the new curriculum should be equipped with comprehensive subjects regarding the modern technicalities of fishing.
Tan said that a part of the P200 million could be used to buy modern fishing equipment such as underwater sonars and radars to expose the students in "actual fishing" methods.
The rest of the fishing magnates in the city expressed their willingness to open their companies for those who are willing undergo as On-The-Job-Trainees (OJTs).
Tan said that Mayor Rivera’s plan is a good move because it foresees things for the fishing business while the rest are not paying attention to it.
"Mayor Rivera did well on giving importance on the industry. Many thought that we are strong already, but we still need the assistance of the local government," Tan emphasized.
The project proposal will be crafted by the same team with the city mayor after Kalilangan 2014. (GENSAN INFO OFFICE/Ian John M. Lagare)
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