By Nimfa Estrellado Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas inspects the facilities and discusses potential improvements with local officials ...
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| Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas inspects the facilities and discusses potential improvements with local officials and stakeholders during his visits to the Lucena fishport. (Photo from Batangas PIO) |
LUCENA CITY, Quezon - In order to gain insights into its operations and potentially implement similar strategies in his province, Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas recognizes the importance of the fishing industry in both regions and aims to enhance the fishport facilities and services in Batangas to support local fishermen and boost economic growth.
After the governor went to the LAB for All Caravan at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City on January 9, 2024, the governor immediately left for Barangay Dalahican to visit the Lucena fishport.
He is using insights gained from other fish ports in Calabarzon and elsewhere in the country to guide the upcoming construction of a modern food terminal in Batangas that will serve the needs of local fishermen while also providing a platform for the efficient distribution of seafood products.
Mandanas has recently announced that in 2024, his administration will start building a food transport hub on a sprawling coastal property in the province, and this is the reason he is visiting fishports in different areas to gather ideas and best practices.
He believes that by researching successful fishports, he can ensure that the forthcoming Batangas food terminal will have cutting-edge facilities and technology, benefiting both the local fishing industry and the province's overall economy.
His visit to the Lucena fishport fell in line with the start of the "Hapag Isdaan ng Mamamayan (Fish for the Masses)" project, which the fish port management had started.
It is under the supervision of a Technical Working Group, led by Governor Mandanas himself, with Provincial Agriculturist Dr. Rodrigo Bautista, Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) Assistant Department Head Medel Salazar, Fisheries Consultant Engr. Marcos Umbana, and staff from the Provincial Engineer's Office and PPDO.
The conduct of an ocular inspection and consultative meeting, where Mandanas personally meets some officials of the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA)—Lucena, under the direction of Lucena Fish Port Complex Port Manager Custodio Balaoing, Jr.
It was very helpful for the representatives of the provincial government to go to the said PFDA facility in Lucena City to gain more knowledge regarding the proper operational and organizational procedures that are required for regional fish port operations.
Mandanas visited the General Santos Fish Port Complex in South Cotabato, which is the country's second largest fish port and will open in November 2023.
He intends to visit the Navotas Fish Port Complex, the oldest and largest fish port, to obtain additional projections for their investigations in the next phase of their study.
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