PHILSTAR

PRESIDENTIAL candidate and Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” M. Domagoso vowed full support to the creation of a fisheries department separate from the Department of Agriculture if he wins in the May elections.

Mr. Domagoso, the standard-bearer of Aksyon Demokratiko, said in a statement on Monday that he will certify as urgent bills that will upgrade the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources into a department-level agency to “help fishermen earn more.”

Several related bills were filed in the current Congress, but all have remained pending at the committee level.

He also said that he will order the establishment of cold storage facilities in agricultural regions and provinces where the main source of income is fishing. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Domagoso’s running mate, Willie T. Ong, said the Philippines should attract more foreign investments to help boost the economy.

“If we are more open to foreign direct investments, we can be assured that more foreign investors will go here. Because if there are more foreign investors, they will be paying tax and creating more jobs, especially for people in the provinces,” he said in Filipino in a radio interview on Monday. 

Mr. Ong also said that they will push for growth outside the capital.

“Our development is too focused on the NCR (National Capital Region). We also need to develop the regions in Visayas and Mindanao by building more houses and roads so that somehow, there will be more jobs and our economy will be more balanced.”

He also said that digitalizing government processes is one way of fighting corruption.

“I have worked in the Department of Health for five years. That’s when I saw that the computerization in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. was crucial, because of some wrong reports,” Mr. Ong, a medical doctor, said. “Of course, if the process is done manually, it is easy to make false reports.” 

He also said that the government needs to strengthen information campaigns about COVID-19 vaccines.

Mr. Ong gives medical advice on his Facebook page and his Youtube channel, which has 9.4 million subscribers. — Jaspearl Emerald G. Tan

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