Davide Supports Call to Declare Visayan Sea a Natural Treasure

Governor Hilario P. Davide III expressed support on the call of the Alliance of Provinces for the Protection of the Visayan Sea (APPVS) to declare the Visayan Sea as a “natural and national treasure of the Philippines that will be managed as a national marine reserve of global significance.”

On Wednesday, environmental crusader Antonio Opposa, Jr. met with Davide to present its letter requesting President Rodrigo Duterte to declare the Visayan as a national marine reserve.

The Visayan Sea is surrounded by the Eastern and Western Visayas islands. It is bounded by the islands of Masbate to the north and Leyte to the east, Cebu and Negros to the south and Panay to the west.

In its letter, the group also asked the President for a one unit boat to be used for research and monitoring.

“We the people of the Visayan Sea, with the support of our leaders and governors of the provinces of Cebu, Negros Occidental and Iloilo, respectfully write this letter to thank you for making coastal law enforcement as one of the priority programs under your administration,” the letter reads.

Opposa, known for his daring operations against environmental criminal syndicates, explained that the move is significant to Cebuanos because they were the ones responsible for destroying the Visayan sea.

“Kinsa may nagtudlo sa taga Negros og dynamita? Di ba Cebuano?” said Opposa referring to dynamite fishing.

The group said that despite the efforts made by different agencies and local governments to protect the Visayan Sea, still it remains under attack from commercial fishing.

Last November 25, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) 7 banned commercial fishing of sardines, herrings and mackerels within the Visayan Sea for three months. The ban included the portions of the Visayan Sea from Danao River at the tip of Escalante north of Bacolod, at the eastern tip of Sta. Fe and northern tip of Madridejos in Cebu to Higantes Island in Carles, Iloilo, and Caluya Island in Oriental Mindoro.

Provincial Information Officer Jason Monteclar, who also signed the support document, said the campaign will serve as repentance for the “sins of the Cebuanos.”

“This is more of a self-redemption for us, Cebuanos who are partly to blame over the ongoing destruction of our environment,” said Monteclar.

Monteclar added that the call will also serve as a platform for information and education campaign that would be waged around the Visayan Sea.

“I hope this will become the first leg work for the restoration efforts of the Visayan Sea. We’ll make people understand and care,” he added.

“The people of the Visayan Sea are determined to protect and restore the biological wealth of the sea waters surrounding our provinces-the Visayan Sea,” the letter expressed.

Visayan Sea is a body of water of about 1.3 million hectares, which, according to APPVS, is of global significance. Moreover, the sea is widely known as “the heart of marine biodiversity on Earth.” (PIO)

SOURCE: www.cebu.gov.ph