OPOL, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews / 15 March) — A war thousands of miles away has begun to affect the small fishing village of Luyong Bonbon, where residents now face the reality of rising fuel prices and fisherfolk are looking for work in nearby factories and establishments to keep their families alive.
Village chief Jerry Jacalan and fishing boat owner Cecilia Baculio stood on the pier as the dying Amihan winds swept across the small bay where trawlers and pump boats lay anchored.
Fishing is a key economic sector in this booming first-class town located about 11 kilometers west of Cagayan de Oro. Most fishermen from the coastal villages rely on daily fishing trips in nearby municipal waters to support their families.
In normal times, the small fleet of nine trawlers and 20 pump boats would already be at sea, hauling in their catch as they have done for decades.
But this week and in the following days, the boats will remain at anchor.
“With these winds and the high price of diesel fuel, nobody will venture out to sea,” said 65-year old Baculio.
Baculio said she used to spend about ₱10,000 on diesel fuel every time her 30-ton fishing trawler, M/B Congcong, went out to sea. But after the United States and Israel launched coordinated airstrikes across Iran on February 28 and killed its Supreme Leader, and Iran responded with missile and drone strikes against its attackers, the cost had tripled to ₱30,000 per fishing trip.
Faced with that reality, Baculio and other boat owners decided not to venture out to sea.
“We will be at a loss. What if we catch only ten banyeras (tubs) of fish?” she said.
A fisherman secures the line tied to the boats anchored at the pier in Barangay Luyongbonbon, Opl town in Misamis Oriental on 14 March 2026. MindaNews photo by FROILAN GALLARDO
Baculio explained that a small tub of sardines sells for about ₱2,000 each when their boats dock at the Luyong Bonbon pier, where buyers usually wait for the catch.
She said she could not risk spending that much money (P30,000) especially as fish catch in the municipal waters of Opol has been declining over the years.
Jacalan said the crisis forced many fishermen to look for work in nearby factories and establishments, after they secured their boats at the pier.
He said the wives of the fishermen have also started taking odd jobs to help their husbands and ensure their families survive the crisis.
“Seventy percent of my 4,000 constituents are fishermen. With this crisis, everyone is looking for a job. Many of them know carpentry. I hope this skill will help them find work,” Jacalan said. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)
