By Jessaveth Barcia
CABARIAN, Ligao City, June 7 (PNA) — In celebration of the World Ocean Day on Monday, the local government unit (LGU) of Ligao City held an advance recognition ceremony here at 1:00 p.m. Saturday.
Ligao City will be celebrating World Ocean Day on Monday with the theme “Healthy Oceans, Healthy Planet.”
World Ocean day was first introduced in 1922 to raise awareness among Filipinos of the crucial role the ocean plays as a source of food, oxygen and other marine lives.
Ligao City Mayor Patricia Gonzales-Alsua warmly acknowledged the participants of the event consisting of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippine Army and fisher folk of Maonon, Cabarian and Catburawan villages.
Diomedes Ballebar, representative from BFAR, and Vince Cinches, an ocean defender from Greenpeace Philippines, were among the speakers.
“Most of the illegal fishing activities have been committed in municipal waters but these seldom happen in commercial grounds because there are only few fishes there,” Ballebar told the Philippines News Agency.
“If you will observe, the LGU-Ligao is the only one that is fighting against illegal fishing while LGUs in some places are even the ones responsible for illegal fishing. To avoid this, we ask assistance from the Regional Enforcement Coordinating Committee and PNP Regional Director Victor Deona to give us 12 PNP officers whom we can consult and ask help from during operations,” he said.
Through LGU-Ligao’s effort, 62 hectares of mangrove plantation and three fish sanctuaries and marine reserves were established in the coastal barangays of Cabarian, Maonon and Catburawan.
Cinches gave his side on his campaign against illegal fishing.
“In our campaign, we offer our lives, far from our families but we need to achieve something in our campaign. Hopefully by Monday, our celebration mainly will focus on protecting what is dear to us — and that is our ocean in Burias-Ticao Pass,” he said.
Some participants received certificates for their great service to protect the oceans of the Bicol Region. (PNA)