PRRM, PANEG-CA, NFR to Hold Visayan Sea Regional Policy Forum on Blue Crab Crisis

July 28, 2026

In response to the recent US ban of imported Philippine blue crabs, the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM)-Negros Office with the Panay-Negros-Guimaras Crab Fishers Alliance (PANEG-CA), the largest small fishers network in the Visayas, in collaboration with the NGOs for Fisheries Reform (NFR), will hold a Visayan Sea Regional Policy Forum/ Workshop on the Blue Swimming Crabs (BSC): The Urgent Responses of Gov’t, Business, CSOs and Small Fishers on July 29- 30, 2026. The forum venue will be at L’ Fisher Hotel, Bacolod City.

Some 70 leaders and representatives of the various sectors and stakeholders in the BSC industry in the Visayas are expected to attend especially during the regional forum set on Wednesday afternoon.

Invited to give the keynote message for the regional forum is Sen. Francis Pangilinan, the current chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform.

Invited as discussants for the forum are the following: DA- BFAR- NIR OIC Regional Director Rene Parreno, MBCCI executive director Frank Carbon, Sarabia Blue Crab President Alfonso Gamboa, and NFR executive director and current NGO representative to the National FARMC Mayette Rodriguez.

Invited as reactors are the DILG- NIR regional director Lailyn Ortiz, CESO IV, Negros Occidental OPA head Dr. Dina Gensola, PANEG-CA chair Gerry Bedoya and PRRM- Negros Area Mngr. Edwin Balajadia.

Also invited to give their comments/ insights on the BSC Crisis were Negros based legislators including 3rd District Congressman Javi Benitez, 5th District solon Cong.Dino Yulo and 2nd District Rep. Alfredo Marañon III.

The regional workshop will also take up and review plans and campaign activities against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing undertaken by PRRM-Negros, PANEG-CA and member NGOs (CERD, Tambuyog and Sikat) of NFR, the implementing NGO of the current OCEAN- funded project, which is based in the United Kingdom (UK).

PRRM – Negros Area Mngr Edwin Balajadia said the forum/workshop is unprecedented and aims to level off on the causes and effects of the BSC Crisis, build consensus and define strategic responses/options and initial plans among the stakeholders on ways forward. He averred this is the first ever civil society initiative for the Visayan Sea on the BSC with private- public- CSO participants from 20 coastal LGUs, 6 provinces and 3 regions.* (Hazel Aghon)