Sual mayor denies obstruction

By August 21, 2016Headlines, News

NAVIGATIONAL LANES CONTROVERSY

SUAL—The town’s mayor vehemently denied that the marker-buoys installed around the mariculture zone for bangus (milkfish) raised in fish cages obstruct navigation lanes for motorized bancas as alleged by protesting fishermen in their petition.

Mayor Roberto Arcinue told The PUNCH there is a 100-meter wide navigational lane where even a ship could pass through.

He also pointed to three cross-navigational lanes of 45 meters wide each. “In the highway, it’s only six meters wide so what’s the big fuss about this?” he asked.

If the marker-buoys are obstructing navigational lanes as alleged by petitioners, Arcinue said, the first to complain would be the fish cage operators because they can no longer feed their bangus.

“But why is no one among them complaining? They even like it (buoys) to prevent pilferage and theft,” he added.  There are 750 fish cages in the mariculture zone here that produce 60 tons of bangus harvested daily, he said.

Arcinue urged the Sangguniang Panlalawigan committee conducting probe on the petition allegedly signed by 310 fishermen “to check thoroughly if the petitioners are, indeed, fishermen.”

“This petition is only fictitious, fraudulent,” he charged as he pointed out that initial verification of his office showed the signatories are tricycle drivers, farmers, construction workers and jobless people, not fishermen.

He said politics is behind the petition and those behind meant to harass him.

Mr. Arcinue said he is merely implementing what was in the town’s Fisheries Code.

He said the town benefits from fish cages as it earns P10-million yearly from permits and licenses, job opportunities, among others.

“During my first term, they used bangus as reason to raise a howl on the fish cages alleging security threat to the power plant. But the bangus are not terrorists. Now they have this petition again,” the mayor said.

Board Member Liberato Villegas, chair of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, together with Board Member Noel Bince, chairman of the Committee on Laws and Ordinances, presided over the hearing two weeks ago at the Sanggnuang Panlalawigan session hall attended by hundreds of the petitioners.

The petitioners claimed that the marker-buoys serve the interest of the owners of the fish cages that have mushroomed within the bay area. The gadgets, they said, have been detrimental to their fishing activities, as these have constricted the navigational lanes within the communal fishing ground.

At the hearing, Regional Director Victoria Abrera of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) said the EMB office may suspend the renewal of ECC and file another cease and desist order (CDO) against 30% of the fish cage operators who have not secured compliance certificate (ECC).

Arcinue said the DENR should go ahead to do what it should to those without ECCs. (Tita Roces)

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