Capitol turns over patrol boat to Bantayan Island

CEBU, Philippines - The Capitol is set to turn over a PL-480 patrol boat to Bantayan Island as the Cebu Provincial Anti-Illegal Fishing Task Force (CPAIFTF) strengthen their operations in the northern cluster of the Coastal Resource Management Council (CRMC).

Fourth district Rep. Benhur Salimbangon requested for the patrol boat, originally intended for Tabogon, to be assigned to other areas in northern Cebu saying that illegal fishing is not a problem in the said town.

The patrol boat was awarded to the Municipality of Tabogon, still in the fourth district, by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources for their successful Integrated Coastal Resource Management Program (ICRMP).

But Tabogon Mayor Eusebio Dungog forwarded the said package to the Capitol seeing the need to reinforce the task force in its efforts to curb illegal fishing activities in the northern part of the Province.

In a meeting last week, Santa Fe Mayor Jennifer Illustrisimo aired out the rampant illegal fishing in Bantayan Sea particularly in her municipality.

This prompted Governor Gwendolyn Garcia to decide that the patrol boat will be turned over to the CRMC-Bantayan cluster as this will help in the closer monitoring of fishing activities in the area. 

 BFAR-7 assistant regional director Allan Poquita expressed no objection about the turn-over of the said patrol boat which is now on standby at the Capitol compound.

The memorandum of agreement earlier signed by the Province of Cebu and BFAR also did not prohibit the Capitol from turning it over to a particular local government unit.

A composite team from the cluster will be organized to oversee the operations of the said patrol boat, which will be stationed in Sta. Fe.

 Illustrisimo is glad that the patrol boat will be provided for their cluster, and as the local government’s share, she will look for means to put up a building for the CRMC office.

 “Lipay g’yud kaayo kay dako kaayo na nga problema kay di man mi kadakop gud kay gamay ra ang among bantay-dagat, (I’m very happy because this is a big problem for us since we only have a small Bantay Dagat team.)” Illustrisimo said.

Salimbangon, who was present during the meeting, promised to contribute P500,000 as additional funding for the council while the provincial government already gave each CRMC an initial subsidy of P500,000. 

 Salimbangon said that he will not hesitate to provide the necessary funds since this will greatly help his constituents in the fourth district.

Bantayan Mayor Ian Christopher Escario and Madridejos Mayor Salvador dela Fuente will also allocate a percentage of their funds for the operations of the council.

 The three mayors will meet to install a system to sustain operations of the CRMC.—(FREEMAN)