Four thousand farmers and fisherfolk across the Province of Biliran received financial assistance under the Presidential Assistance to Farmers and Fisherfolk Program (PAFFP) on June 2, 2026, marking the program’s initial rollout in the province.
Beneficiaries came from the municipalities of Biliran, Almeria, Naval, and Kawayan, where eligible recipients gathered to receive support aimed at cushioning the impact of the oil price crisis on the agriculture and fisheries sectors.
Qualified beneficiaries were farmers and fisherfolk registered under the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) and the Boat Registry (BoatR) who remain actively engaged in farming and fishing during the height of the oil crisis.
For many recipients, the assistance represented more than financial reliefโit offered an opportunity to continue working the land and sea that sustain their families and communities.
Among them was fisherfolk beneficiary Ricky S. Mocorro, who shared that the assistance would allow him to replace worn-out fishing gear essential to his livelihood.
“๐๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช ๐ช๐ฑ๐ข๐ฑ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ต ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ธ๐ช๐ญ ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฌ๐ข๐บ ๐จ๐ถ๐ด๐ช ๐ฏ๐ข ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ต ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ต. ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ด๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ต ๐ญ๐ข๐ฃ-๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ข ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ต ๐จ๐ถ๐ด๐ช-๐จ๐ถ๐ด๐ช. ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ฃ๐ถ๐ญ๐ช๐จ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช ๐ฉ๐ข ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฉ๐ช, ” he expressed.
[I will use this to buy fishing hooks and nets because the ones I am currently using are already torn and worn out. I am deeply grateful because my fishing net is already badly damaged. This assistance will help sustain my livelihood.]
Likewise, farmer beneficiary Helen A. Montes said the aid would help her prepare her farm for the next cropping season.
“๐๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐ต, ๐ฑ๐ถ๐บ๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ช ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ต ๐ถ๐จ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ ๐ด๐ข ๐ญ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ณ, ๐ด๐ข ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ข๐จ-๐ข๐ณ๐ฐ, ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ญ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ด๐ข๐ฌ. ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ข ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐น๐ต ๐ค๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ญ๐ช ๐ฌ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ข๐ฃ๐ต๐ข๐ฏ ๐ถ๐จ ๐ถ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ. ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ช ๐ถ๐จ ๐ต๐ข๐ฃ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฃ-๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ข ๐ฌ๐ข๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฏ,” she shared.
[I can use what I received to pay for labor and land preparation so my rice field can be cleared and readied for cultivation. This will allow me to plant during the next cropping season before the rains arrive. This is a tremendous help, especially during these challenging times.]
The rollout underscores the government’s commitment to safeguarding the welfare of farmers and fisherfolk, whose resilience continues to anchor food production despite economic pressures and rising operational costs.
Beneficiaries welcomed the intervention as a timely boost that would help them continue producing food and sustaining their families amid uncertain conditions.
Meanwhile, schedules for the subsequent PAFFP rollouts in Biliran are still being finalized and will be announced in coordination with concerned local government units and implementing agencies.