Agri-party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee has filed a measure that seeks to give a monthly fuel subsidy for municipal fishermen on May 9 at the House of Representatives.

House Bill (HB) 8007, or the "Pantawid Pambangka Act of 2023," mandated the Department of Agriculture to provide an amount of P1,000 in fuel vouchers monthly for eligible beneficiaries, which is said to be revised annually to account for inflation.

According to Lee, it is unfair that the ones who produce food for the people are being left behind, given that the fisherfolk are among the poorest people despite their major contribution to the fishing sector.

Covered in the said bill are the municipal fishermen who use motorized fishing boats of not more than three gross tons, as well as those who are registered under the National Program for Municipal Fisherfolk Registration of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

Once the bill is enacted into law, the recipients of the program will be automatically enrolled and covered under the National Health Insurance Program of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).

Also, the Social Security System will provide microinsurance mechanisms to beneficiaries.

Based on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) Fisheries Situation Report for Major Species, 4,339.89 thousand metric tons were added to the fisheries production, which is an equivalent of 2.2% in 2022 with 4,248.26 thousand metric tons.

The report pointed out the increase in production in marine municipal fisheries and aquaculture, while commercial and inland municipal fisheries reported setbacks during the year.

Meanwhile, implementing HB 8007, an increase of 10% will be earmarked in the collections of the fuel excise task.