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CEBU CITY, Philippines – An environmental lawyer claimed on Tuesday that some local officials in the Visayas reportedly received “tongs or bribes” from commercial fishing boat owners.
Lawyer Antonio Oposa Sr., team leader of the Visayan Sea Squadron, said this is one of the aspects Assistant Ombudsman Mark Jalandoni is looking into.
Jalandoni serves as the Ombudsman for the Environment.
“I know of some officials who receive bribes from commercial fishing boat owners,” he said in Cebuano.
Oposa said the officials come from some parts of Cebu and Iloilo.
Oposa’s allegations came after another environmental lawyer Gloria Ramos recounted fisherfolks’ account of some towns and cities allegedly tolerating illegal fishing by allowing commercial vessels to enter the 15-kilometer limit of municipal waters.
Under the fisheries code, the 15-kilometer zone is reserved for small fishermen.
A P2,000 penalty is too small and has failed to deter commercial operators, Ramos said.
When asked if he was not afraid to get the ire of the officials, Oposa said only those who were involved in illegal fishing would be angry at him.
He said there are local officials who support the Visayan Sea Squadron's campaign against illegal fishing.
The Visayan Sea Squadron is a composed of government officials, lawyers and environmentalists who are committed to save the Visayan Sea.
The Visayan Sea includes the southern portion of Masbate in the North, Northern Iloilo in the West and Cebu and Negros Occidental in the South. It has the richest marine resources, but has since been affected by destructive fishing methods like dynamite fishing.
Oposa said the Ombudsman stepped into the matter with the coordination of the Visayan Sea Squadron in order to save the Visayan Sea.
Oposa said his group is closely coordinating with Jalandoni in conducting an environmental compliance assessment on mayors of 22 towns and cities.
Oposa said Ombudsman will conduct the first assessment in October or 60 days after the meeting on Monday. The final assessment will be in February 2009.
The top performers will be recognized, but those who will fail will be charged for being negligent of their duties to protect the marine environment. Oposa said Jalandoni told him that if law enforcement agencies could arrest illegal fishers, then the officials of the local government should be included in the charge sheet.
“Jalandoni said that if illegal fishermen would be caught in a local government's territory, then the local government officials would be charged. Why? Because it's their job to stop the illegal fishermen. It means that they were negligent of their job,” Oposa said in Cebuano.
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR-7) assistant regional director Allan Poquita on Tuesday urged local government units to give priority on the implementation of the environmental laws.
Poquita said that based on their observation, some local government units did not even allocate enough budget for the implementation of these laws.
Poquita said this could be one of the reasons why illegal fishing still existed.
He, however, noted that compared to before, illegal fishing was not that rampant now.
Poquita attributed the dwindling fish catch to illegal fishing, increasing number of fishermen and sea pollution. /Correspondent Jhunnex Napallacan
