Aurora lighthouse to prevent poachers

BALER, Aurora , Philippines  – A detachment and lighthouse of the Philippine Coast Guard will be established here to protect the province’s coastlines - considered the longest in the country – from poachers and illegal fishers.

The PCG detachment and lighthouse would be installed in Dicasalarin Point in this town, according to an official of the Department of Transportation and Communications.

DOTC Undersecretary for Maritime Transport Tom Lantion said the detachment would be manned by around 18 to 20 Coast Guard personnel who would also patrol the coastlines in Casiguran town in northern Aurora.

He said the establishment of a PCG detachment in the area was requested by Sen. Edgardo Angara who wanted increased presence of law enforcers in the coastal waters of the province amid reports that foreign poachers, mostly Chinese and Taiwanese have been invading the province.

Casiguran Mayor Reynaldo Bitong told The STAR that poaching has become rampant in his town where there are also incidents of dynamite fishing. He said local law enforcers are helpless in running after them in the absence of the PCG and the limited law enforcement capability of the police in the area. “Fifty meters from the shoreline, you can no longer run after the poachers,” he said.

But Lantion said they would no longer install a detachment in Casiguran. “Maybe, we will just patrol the area but no detachment,” he said. 

Aside from Taiwanese and Chinese, Bitong said poachers from the provinces of Quezon and Cagayan have also encroached into Aurora through Casiguran. 

Bitong said that over the last 50 years, there has been no sustained effort to protect the waters of Casiguran from poachers. He added that the municipal government does not have enough manpower and resources to run after the poachers who use modern facilities and conveyances.