2 charged for trading dynamite-fished galunggong
TWO persons have been arrested and charged for trading about 2.6 tons of galunggong (mackarel scad) that were caught through the dynamite fishing.
P/Supt. Christopher Abrahano, Dagupan City police chief, identified the two as Romeo Rabara of San Vicente and Ethel Tiqui of Magsingal, both in Ilocos Sur.
Rabara and Tiqui, who were arrested in the early morning of May 26 by an inspection team of the City Agriculture Office (CAO) at the fish market in Barangay 1, are facing charges for violation of Republic Act 8550 or the Philippine Fisheries Code.
“This is the biggest volume seized since we started conducting market inspection,” said City Agriculture Officer Emma Molina.
A total of 86 boxes of galunggong were seized, with each box containing between 25 to 40 kilos.
Based on its auxiliary invoice, which indicates the origin of the goods, the fish came from Magsinggal, Ilocos Sur.
Galunggong costs P75 to P85 per kilo at wholesale price and P100 to P120 per kilo in retail.
The CAO team composed of representatives of the market division, Bantay Ilog and Bantay Dagat, along with the police and Public Order and Safety Office personnel were alerted when they saw the truck with 86 boxes of galunggong that showed signs these were caught using underwater explosion.
Molina said while the transport to the city was legal but its contents had to be confiscated because the fish were illegally caught.
According to Molina, the seized fish, which were fit for human consumption, were distributed to hospitals, jails, and home care.—Tita Roces
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