Zamboanga City, (PNA) – The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) in coordination with all the concerned stakeholders launched Thursday an alternative employment program for the thousands of workers in the sardines, fishing and canning industries affected by the closed season for commercial fishing in the region.
Dubbed as Sustained Availability through Genuine and Intensified Preservation of TAMBAN (SAGIP-TAMBAN), it is a special program that provides alternative employment to the workers affected by the closed season for commercial fishing.
Aside from the affected workers, the program will also provide temporary or alternative employment to their dependents through the availment of either skills trainings, livelihood or emergency employment from the government and other concerned stakeholders while their employers in the sardines, fishing and canning industries are still observing the closed fishing season.
The implementation of the program shall adopt the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme.
The skills training, livelihood and emergency employment programs of the national government agencies and the local government units shall be enrolled as alternative employment programs for the temporarily displaced workers in partnership with the operators and owners of the sardines, canning and fishing companies who will provide at least 20 percent equity or counterpart.
DoLE Regional Director Ponciano Ligutom said the closed season means “temporary loss of job” for the thousand of workers in the sardines, fishing and canning industries.
Industrial Group of Zamboanga Inc. (IGZI) president George Ledesma said around 30,000 workers are affected y the closed season for commercial fishing.
Ledesma said those affected include laborers whose work is related to the production of sardines, aside from those directly involved in sardine production, fishing and canning industry.
Ligutom said those affected workers are target of the program provided they will qualify and the hiring will be subject to the prioritization of the participating organization.
A monitoring team was created to monitor on a regular basis of the program to ensure the success of various alternative employment program under the SAGIP-TAMBAN, Ligutom said.
Ligutom, on behalf of DoLE, and representatives of the concerned stakeholders have signed a pledge of commitment to ensure the success of the program.
Aside from DoLE, the other stakeholders in the launching of the program are: Department of Agriculture (DA); Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD); City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO); City Agriculturist Office (CAO); Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA); Department of Trade and Industry (DTI); Department of Science and Technology (DoST); Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR); Dipolog City government; Zamboanga City government; PERMEX Producer and Exporter Corporation; AMR Fishing Company; Atlantic Foods Corporation; and, Ayala Seafood Corporation.
Implemented by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), the closed season for commercial fishing took affect last December 1 and end on March 1, 2012.
The closed season for commercial fishing, which is aimed at giving time for fishes to spawn or reproduce, prohibits the catch of “tamban”, a fish species used as the primary raw material in the manufacturing of canned and bottled sardines in the region.
The closed season for commercial fishing covers about 4,078 square nautical miles or 13,987.15 square kilometers encompassing portion of East Sulu Sea, Basilan Strait and Sibuguey Bay.

Source: Manila Bulletin - December 10, 2011