Project backed by WB loan targets poor fisherfolk

Malacañang on Thursday said the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) had approved an P11.2-billion, seven-year project that seeks to lift 350,000 fisherfolk in 24 coastal provinces out of poverty while ensuring food security. Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, who is also the Neda director general and vice chair, announced the approval of the Philippine Fisheries and Coastal Resiliency (FishCoRe) project that will mostly be funded by a loan from the World Bank (WB). The announcement came after President Marcos, who sits as Neda chair, held his first meeting with officials of the socioeconomic planning body led by Balisacan.