The socioeconomic effects of COVID-19 lockdown in the Philippines to fisherfolks of Binangonan, Rizal and their coping strategies

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, fisherfolks in the Philippines are one of the marginalized sectors affected by its negative implications to the economics and the society. Consequently, the small-scale fisherfolks would carry additional burden since they are vulnerable and they have limited capital to mitigate or soften the effects of lockdown to their fishing operations as consumers stayed at home that contributed to the low demand for their products and they experience a disruption on their attainment on basic needs. The alternative livelihood of the fisherfolk would support their financial base to consume basic commodities in order to survive by looking at jobs similar to their sector or from other industries. Now, its main objective is to assess the socio-economic effects of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in the Philippines on the municipal fisherfolks of Binangonan, Rizal. Moreover, this study is guided by the utilization of Basic Needs Approach as its theoretical framework in order to know the accessibility of the fisherfolks on basic goods and their experience on its consumption. Under this study, a qualitative design is adopted as it explored the experiences of the municipal fisherfolks of Binangonan, Rizal through snowball and convenience sampling methods that led to the interview of 12 municipal fisherfolks from the three Barangays: Tayuman, Tagpos, and Lunsad. The results of the study are analyzed through a thematic analysis. As such, three themes have emerged after the collection and analysis of the data, namely, 1.) The socioeconomic status of the fisherfolks and the problems they faced before and during the COVID-19 lockdown, 2.) Consumption Patterns of Binangonan Fisherfolks (Pre-COVID-19 and During COVID-19), and 3.) How Binangonan Fisherfolks Cope Up. From these, the fisherfolks have already faced a problem in their livelihood before the pandemic, and it is added with the implementation of lockdown to the country as they experienced a reduction in their income especially that there is a diminishing market demands. The problems are multidimensional as it involved economical, environmental, and welfare issues. Next, the food- and non-food consumption were affected as well. In mitigating its effects, the fisherfolks have opted for various alternative livelihoods in order to maintain and/or to augment their daily budget, and coping strategies to access basic needs. Lastly, the fisherfolks have recommended that there should be a state intervention in the forms of subsidies or policies that will improve their livelihood, and the researcher have recommended for the exploration of other areas to enrich the topics involved in this study.