Fish tale

One piece of news that broke early this week but did not get the attention it deserved, probably because much of the focus was on the ongoing Corona impeachment trial, was the one about the Philippines now having to import “galunggong” from China and Taiwan.

Galunggong, known in Cebuano as “budboron,” has long been the staple fish in many a Filipino’s diet for two reasons: It is very abundant, and so, consequently, it is cheap. A third reason that may be thrown in is that it actually tastes good.

In fact I myself consider the budboron as a favorite, if prepared the way I like it, which is pan-fried to a golden brown crispness and dipped in spiced up coconut vinegar and served with steaming hot white rice. Even better if the rice is substituted with steaming “mais kan-on.”

Galunggong or budboron is known scientifically as Decapterus macrosoma and in English by a variety of names such as blue mackerel scad, round scad, or shortfin scad. I don’t know how the fish is known in other areas in the Philippines but I am sure it is found abundantly there.

The galunggong frequently topped as most productive fish in the country Since the early 1950s, emerging No. 1 nearly 40 times. In 1997, total commercial galunggong production reached 196,588 metric tons or more than 20 percent of total fish production in the country.

But production began to nosedive not long thereafter and the immediate suspect was overfishing. There is, of course, little dispute about that. But what is not getting recognized, however, is that the reason behind the overfishing is rapid population growth.

Growing at an average of 2.1 percent every year since 2001, the Philippine population has ballooned to an estimated 95 million in 2010. Depending on whose statistics you research, it is safe to assume that about half the number can be considered poor, and thus galunggong eaters.

Clearly, the overfishing is due to the escalating demand. Yet consider the fact that 26.5 million Filipinos, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board, have to survive on less than P41 a day, meaning even the galunggong (P125/kilo ave) is way beyond their means.

But instead of giving the problem the serious consideration it deserves, that it might arrive at a practical and long-lasting solution, the government instead embarked on what can only be described as a frivolous way out: Give money to the poor.

But the country’s poor are not mere ripples around the feet. They are up to our nostrils already, a whole ocean of misery threatening to destabilize the social foundations that keep the nation’s head above water. When you give money to the poor, you give in the billions of pesos.

Now those billions of pesos (P13 billion spent so far, more than P20 billion waiting in the pipeline) could have been better spent on projects and programs that create opportunities to generate work and livelihood, especially for the poor.

There is a saying that goes: “Give me a fish and I eat for a day. Teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime.” Clearly, giving billions of pesos to the poor won’t haul them out of their poverty. On the other hand, it is the surest way to ensure that they remain poor.

Indeed, the latest surveys show the number of people who are hungry or have experienced hunger has gone up. That only goes to show the policy of giving money to the poor has not eased the lot of the poor.

In light of this development, the government should realize it is time to abandon its folly and spend the billions earmarked for doleouts on more productive endeavors, initiatives that are more beneficial and offer better returns on the investment.