CEBU, Philippines - The Department of National Defense has entered into an agreement with the Law of Nature Foundation and its seaborne arm, the Visayan Sea Squadron, to strengthen the cooperation between them by institutionalizing their activities and projects to attain common goals of protecting and preserving the environment, particularly the Visayan Sea.
Signatories of the pact were Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr., Central Command chief Lt. Gen. Isagani Cachuela, LNF president Antonio Oposa and VSSq team leader Hector Teodosio.
Teodoro said saving the environment, especially the marine resources, is very crucial and a matter of national security. “We have to protect our marine resources not for us but for our children and our children’s children,” he stressed.
The MOA, among others, formalizes the provision of assistance by the DND, through the AFP-PN, to the LNF-VSSq in accomplishing the latter’s mission to conserve, protect, and restore the Visayan Sea.
The LNF is a non-profit organization duly incorporated under the laws of the Philippines with its seaborne arm the VSSq.
Both parties shared a common belief that the protection of the environment is nothing less than the protection of the Sources of Life themselves-the land, water and seas.
They also commit, subject to existing laws, rules and regulations, to use and leverage each other’s resources, equipment, manpower and technical capabilities to fulfill the general vision and goal of the said agreement.
“Environmental security may well be the highest form of national security,” the agreement reads.
Under the MOA, the defense department is tasked to develop its internal capability to raise awareness among its personnel on the importance of the protection and conservation of the Source of Life as a national security concern.
DND will also direct the AFP Central Command to coordinate, cooperate and provide operational assistance, if necessary, to the VSSq in the conduct of the latter’s mission on maritime, environmental and fisheries protection, particularly in establishing a network of Maritime Protected Areas in the Visayan Sea.
On the other hand, the LNF and the VSSq will conduct seminars and on-the-job training for DND, particularly the AFP, to create awareness on the importance of the environment. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/WAB (THE FREEMAN)