Southern Iloilo towns get P.5M for coastal protection
Gov. Arthur Defensor yesterday turned over a check of P500,000 to the Southern Iloilo Coast Resource Management Council (SICRMC) Inc., an alliance of southern Iloilo towns for the protection of their marine resources.
The amount serves as the provincial government’s initial assistance to the council, underscoring Defensor’s commitment to protect and rehabilitate the coastal waters of southern Iloilo.
The check was received by Mayors Vincent Flores of Oton, Christine Garin of Guimbal and Ninfa Garin of San Joaquin during the council’s meeting at the Anhawan Beach Resort in Oton.
Defensor recalled that in the late 1950s when he was still a student at University of the Philippines in the Visayas in Iloilo City, he and his classmates would go to Trapiche, Oton to enjoy eating lampirong or Capiz shells for free.
“We can eat as many lampirong as we want then, provided we cook them ourselves and leave the shells behind because these were used to make window panes,” he told his audience of councilors and marine scientists.
But he noted, the supply of lampirong has dwindled due to overharvesting, and while there are still Capiz shells available in Oton, these now taste different because they already came from polluted waters.
Defensor also recalled the time when blue marlin and milk fish were abundant from Tigbauan down to San Joaquin but the supply of these species have also dwindled due to illegal fishing.
“We have to do something and we have to address the problem with a high sense of urgency,” Defensor said. “We have to save our seas so our children and our children’s children can enjoy its bounty.”
The SICRMC, an inter-local government alliance created in 2002, is composed of the municipalities of Guimbal, Miagao, Oton, Tigbauan and San Joaquin.
Witnessing the turn-over of the check was Dr. Carlos Baylon, dean of the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences of U.P. Visayas and a trustee of the council.*
