FREE FISHING BOATS. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) awards fiberglass reinforced plastic boats to fishermen in the coastal towns of Obando and Paombong in Bulacan on Friday (Dec. 17, 2021). The initiative is under BFAR's 'F/B Pagbabago' program that aims to improve the livelihood of fishermen by providing them with durable fishing boats. (Photo courtesy of BFAR-Region 3) CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga - The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)-Central Luzon distributed on Friday 12 units of fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) boats to marginalized fishermen in the coastal towns of Obando and Paombong in Bulacan. BFAR regional director Wilfredo Cruz said the 25-footer FRB boats worth PHP600,000 were funded under the bureau's F/B Pagbabago Program. Cruz said the F/B Pagbabago is among the priority projects of BFAR national director Eduardo Gongona that aim to improve fishermen's livelihood through the provision of disaster-resilient fishing boats. He said the boats are motorized, accompanying each with a 10 horsepower (HP) marine engine and a set of underwater fittings. Paombong received five boats while Obando got seven. Two fishermen will benefit from each boat. "This initiative aims to improve the livelihood of the beneficiaries by providing them with durable and hard-wearing boats as well as promoting sustainable and responsible fishing not just for the present but more so for the future generation," he said in a social media post. Aside from Bulacan, the BFAR also awarded FRB boats to the fishermen in Zambales and Pampanga this month. In Zambales, BFAR turned over 10 units of 35-footer FRB boats worth PHP10 million to fishermen in Masinloc town last December 1, while 23 units of fishing vessels worth some PHP1.1 million were provided to fishermen-beneficiaries in Masantol, Pampanga last December 15. (PNA) }