(Open letter to Mr. Abednego Gerona, Municipal Agrarian Officer, Siaton, Negros Oriental) {{more}}
Dear Mr. Gerona:
We are appealing to you and your office to help in promoting awareness of the Coastal Resource Management Program of our municipality here in Barangay Siit, particularly the nearshore area from Andulay to Antulang, where the coral reef has a chance to recover. We understand that the municipal police force can only give security support to the DA personnel, and the police officers who attended to our plea last night insisted that it is mainly the DA office who has a working strategy and can enforce the fishery laws. Perhaps with a coordinated strategy, our cooperative work can have measurable results.
We in Antulang often feel unsupported as in our place, the police often state, is too distant from the Siaton Police Station for any real apprehension to take place. As every illegal fishing acitivity has to be “caught-in-the-act”, and wherein the municipal ordinance, as you have explained, has to have the presence of the DA, the police, and the local barangay officer, our local Bantay Dagat volunteer work in restoring our marine resources is becoming weak. This policy makes the law almost impossible to enforce, and we can only make this step to have our report with photos and videos investigated. Kindly make an official written reply as this can clarify what your proposal can do to raise an appeal for our barangay needs without having to go through a cycle of referrals to the Phil. Navy, the mun. police, the mayor, and the governor.
Based on one report (attached), kindly facilitate a prompt investigation so our reef here in Siit can have a chance against constant abuse from our community members. We have often reported this to our local barangay, and these same violators have been already caught in the act by Bry. Captain Bondocan, who was together with the barangay officers. Despite of this, these same people have not stopped, and worse, they are getting bolder in showing how they violate our right to have a healthy reef. All life requires clean water and clean air, and no man, city, and country on this planet has the right to contribute in this unsustainable way of fishing. Major and minor offenses continue as such abuses do not get any sanction. Our resources are very limited, and we still have no Bantay Dagat in this area, who, according to the police officer last night, that we should just refer these problems to the barangay level.
As you may know, any volunteer work for our CRM can only work if the agencies tasked to orient the people of conservation efforts and where the law gets enforced go hand-in-hand. Without it everything else become redundant. We strongly believe in protecting our fishery as this is the main sustenance for food and basic livelihood of our local people. It is in the same vein of environmental stewardship that we hope on that we can work together.
Please help us.
Very truly yours,
GENA MARI R. DAYON, VOLUNTEER BANTAY DAGAT
KARLA D. GREGORIO, VOLUNTEER BANTAY DAGAT
JUNILYN MACABUNLOG, VOLUNTEER BANTAY DAGAT, BFAR-LICENSED
MARITESS ZAPANTA, VOLUNTEER BANTAY DAGAT BFAR-LICENSED
ARNOLD ALAPAP, VOLUNTEER BANTAY DAGAT
CHERELYN V. MAGUSARA, WITNESS
cc: Barangay Siit Punong Kagawad R. Bondocan
Mayor’s Office
Gov. Macias, Provincial Governor
Atty. L. Tayko, Legal Counsel
Dr. A. Alcala, SUAKCREM
Provincial PNP Head