A true blooded Ivatan Mr. Rogelio G. Doplito, 52 is this year’s Fisherfolk Regional Director who lives in San Antonio, Basco, Batanes.
Doplito earned his bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education at St. Dominic College in 2008.
Fishing and farming is a way of life in the famous island province. Despite its laid back and idyllic environment, Ivatans has no time for leisure. Both farming and fishing are treated as positive diversion to any form of boredom that even professionals like Doplito and his family are inclined into as form of past time and source of alternative income.
Raised by both professional parents, his father as veterinarian and mother as a teacher, Roger as he is fondly called makes his time as productive as possible as a daily routine.
His professional engagement started when he first joined the political arena in 2013-2016 as Sangguniang Bayan and served as the chair of the committee on Rules, Ethics and Public Accountability and Environment and Tourism. He served another term in 2019-2022 wherein he made significant contributions towards environmental protection. He supported the Zero Plastic Ordinance, prohibiting Ivatans to utilize plastic in packaging various products.
Apart from this, he also made efforts in the protection of the welfares of traditional Ivatan “Mataw Fishers. The Ivatan word “Mataw” means fisherman referring to the fishers of dolphin fish (Coryphaena hippurus) or commonly known as Dorado.
At present, he is the Chairman of the Integrated Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Management Council of Batanes.
According to Roger, his experience as this year’s Fisherfolk Regional Director will introduce him to knew learning dimensions particularly in inland fishing where he knows little compared to his exposures in capture fisheries.
“I am grateful to the DA-BFAR for allowing me to experience this opportunity as Fisherfolk Regional Director for a month. It will surely add to my wealth of knowledge. With these new learning opportunities, I will bring these to my homeland and adopt whatever is applicable towards the improvement of the lives of my fellow Ivatans” said, Roger Doplito.
For this year, Doplito will assume the role and position of Fisherfolk Regional Director for the whole month of May, in line with the celebration of Farmers and Fisherfolk Month.
Being the 16th FRD, his installation is mandated under the Department of Agriculture Special Order No. 88. This move is intended to “further dramatize and popularize fisherfolk empowerment and participation as government partners and draw awareness on the vital role of farmers and fisherfolk as backbone in the government’s poverty alleviation program”. (A. Silva, FIS)
