Presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos claimed that galunggong or round scad, which he stressed was “for the poor,” is the fish “easiest to raise.” There is no basis for his claim because research on galunggong aquaculture is still ongoing, and experts have no conclusions on its feasibility.
STATEMENT
During a March 8 interview on DZRJ, Marcos Jr. said he cannot understand why the Philippines is importing galunggong:
“Ang pinakamadaling alagaan ay galunggong. Hindi ba pang-mahirap nga dapat iyan? (The easiest to raise is galunggong. Isn’t it supposed to be for the poor?) You can get that anywhere, tapos nag-i-import tayo (and [yet] we’re importing)? … That describes the terrible state that we have allowed our agri [sector] to come into.”
Source: DZRJ 810 AM – Radyo Bandido, (Presidential aspirant Bongbong Marcos interview), March 8, 2022, watch from 24:57 to 25:37
Marcos was reacting to an announcement from the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Jan. 18 that the country will import 60,000 metric tons of fish, including galunggong, due to a projected decrease in supply in the first quarter of 2022 that could raise market prices.
In deciding to import fish, the DA said it factored in the significant damage in the fisheries sub-sector due to Typhoon Odette that battered Visayas and Mindanao last December and the reduced production with the fishing season over.
FACT
No data has established that galunggong is “easiest to raise” among other aquatic species, as claimed by Marcos Jr. According to Josette Emlen Genio, a licensed fisheries technologist/aquaculturist, research on its feasibility for farming is still at the “exploratory stage.”
Read the full story on VERA Files Fact Check.
