The National Economic and Development Authority has approved a P11.2-billion project aimed at addressing problems in the fishery sector, Malacañang announced on Thursday.

The Office of the Press Secretary said NEDA approved the Philippine Fisheries and Coastal Resiliency Project during its meeting with President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. in Malacañang.

According to the OPS, the President noted the timeliness of the project, saying that it is projected that a few decades from now, there will be more saltwater fish cultivation as a result of overfishing.

"So we have to get into the industry. We've been pushing it since we started using fingerlings in the Pangasinan aquaculture. 'Yung grow-out doon sa amin… after the grow-out, we will send them to Pangasinan," Marcos said during the meeting, the OPS said.

"For some reason, hindi nagpo-flourish 'yung aquaculture, hindi na nade-develop (aquaculture is not flourishing and developing). That's why this is important to me. I think this is where — if not all, it will be part of our food supply. It will give very good income for our fisherfolk," he added.

The FishCoRe project was conceptualized to address the problems in the fishery sector, such as declining fish catch, high post-harvest losses, and high poverty incidence among fisherfolk.

Around 26,877 jobs are expected to be created by the project and benefit some 354,905 registered fisherfolk in 24 provinces with a coastal and marine area of about 32 million hectares.

The seven-year investment, OPS said, will support the implementation of reforms in fishery and aquaculture management in the Philippines.

Fishery resources

The project is aimed at improving the management of the country's fishery resources and enhancing the value of fisheries production in selected fisheries management areas.

Project components include supporting the development and implementation of appropriate fisheries management policies, establishing support facilities for the rehabilitation of coastal and maritime habitats, and improving institutional capacities for strengthened enforcement.

FishCoRe also seeks to establish fisheries infrastructure and facilities and provide livelihood and enterprise development assistance to Filipino fisherfolk.

Of the P11.2 billion total project cost, P9.6 billion will come from the official development assistance provided by the World Bank.

The remaining P660.6 million will be shouldered by the government through the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources while the P1.16 billion will come from private sector partners and beneficiary groups or cooperatives.

The project proponents expect the FishCoRe Project to contribute to the administration's thrust of ensuring food security and resiliency through improved aquaculture production, increased fish stocks, provision of diversified livelihood opportunities, and higher incomes for fisherfolk.

Meanwhile, the NEDA has endorsed an executive order modifying the tariff rates of certain electric vehicles to President Marcos Jr. to encourage the use of electronic vehicles and reduce dependence on imported fuel in the country.

In a media briefing on Thursday, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the modified tariff rates will also include its parts and components.

"We want to encourage the adoption, the use of e-vehicles because that will address pollution issues and, of course, adaptations to climate change; and we believe that's the future," Balisacan said.

"But more importantly, we want to be part of the value chain globally in this drive to get to these new industries, new growth drivers. And hopefully, we can develop our own industries, and this reduction in tariff is part of that building up of ecosystem," he said.

Modifying tariff rates

He said the EO modifying tariff rates will cover certain electric vehicles such as passenger cars, buses, mini buses, vans, trucks, motorcycles, tricycles, scooters and bicycles, among others, including EV parts and components.

"In particular, the EO will temporarily reduce the most-favored-nation tariff rates to zero percent for five years and completely built-up or CBU units of second EVs, except for hybrid-type EVs," Balisacan said.

He added: "It will also implement tariff modification on second parts and components of EVs from five percent to one percent for five years."

The NEDA board, he said, also indicated that the tariff modifications shall be reviewed after one year of implementation with the view to assessing its impact and the development of the EV industry ecosystem.

After one year, it will also be determined if it is necessary to include hybrid vehicles in the modification of tariff rates.

The government will not suffer financial loss for the modification of tariff rates, he assured.

"We have really reduced the tariffs for those vehicles that are not yet locally produced and as of now, the quantity of those vehicles is not that big," he said. "But because we want to encourage the adoption of EVs that will eventually increase the demand for support systems like the chargers; it can even develop value-adding services for our industry."