Can BFAR implement a Visayas-wide fishing ban?

Our Special Presentation tonight is an interview that I never dream of doing, while I was in Rome, as we were invited to conduct this interview at the Prelatic Church or the Opus Dei Center in Rome, the headquarters of Opus Dei worldwide located at the Via di Villa Sacchetti. It is also called Villa Tevere.

While we went to Rome for the canonization of San Pedro Calungsod, however Opus Dei was also in a celebration mood as they were also celebrating the 10th anniversary of the canonization of St. Josemaria Escriva who was canonized in Oct.2, 2002 by Pope John Paul II. Call it an extra blessing that the person assigned to show us the Prelatic Center Mr. Dennis Tolentino, a Filipino studying Theology in Rome.

What truly struck me with the Prelatic Church is that if you are not given the proper address of the building, you will never find it. There are no signs that it is the headquarters of Opus Dei. But they do give out their address freely. Inside, the atmosphere is very solemn. Perhaps it is because the founder of Opus Dei, St. Josemaria Escriva is buried in the main altar of the Church of Our Lady of Peace. Saint Escriva loved the Blessed Virgin Mary so much.

There was a Chapel for the Blessed Sacrament and many confessionals, a trademark of Opus Dei that urges all the faithful to embrace the Sacrament of Reconciliation because God wills all of us to be holy and when we are free from sin, and then we are pleasing to God’s eyes. Also in a special crypt are the remains of Msgr. Alvaro del Portillo the 1st successor of St. Escriva who died in 1991. Pope Benedict XVI declared him venerable on June 28, 2012. Hopefully someday Opus Dei will have two Saints in their name.

So watch this special presentation by Dennis Tolentino of the Prelatic Church of Opus Dei in Rome where after few minutes of talks, he gives us a special tour inside this very holy place. You can watch it in SkyCable’s channel 15 at 8:00 PM with replays on Wednesday and Saturday same time. We are also being replayed on MyTV channel 28 on M-W-F.

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Did you know that three days from now, specifically on Nov. 15, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) would begin implementing a three-month sardine and mackerel fishing ban in the whole of the Visayas? This fishing ban that starts three days from now will end on March 15, 2013. BFAR studies apparently show that there has been a decline in the number of fish over the last six decades in the Visayan Sea.

Actually we already knew this from our good friend, Environmental Lawyer Antonio Oposa who told us years ago that the Visayan Sea Triangle one of the world’s greatest marine biodiversity was endangered due to overfishing by commercial fishing boats. While we do agree with this fishing ban, I hope that the Philippine government would have some kind of contingency plan to help out the poor fishermen feed their children. Three months is a long time for people in the fishing industry, especially if there are no plans for an alternate industry that they can move to while the ban is on.

This ban covers from Madridejos down to Negros Oriental and Capiz. My only question to the BFAR is… why ban only Sardines and Mackerel? While the BFAR will create its own version of the Visayan Sea Squadron in order to implement this fishing ban, I would like to believe that if our fishing stocks are truly diminishing, we should ban fishing altogether not just for the sardines and mackerel.

While the BFAR still has three days to go… implementing this ban would mean huge expenditure for this government agency. What can we expect to happen in the high seas? BFAR vessels would certainly be boarding many fishing boats that need to be checked by BFAR agents. What if they see a mackerel or a sardine inside the vessels? Will the fisherman be arrested? For what laws?

As we all know, implementation of our laws is seriously lacking in this country. We’ve got hundreds of thousand fishermen all over the Visayas… it just makes me wonder whether the BFAR would be able to secure the perimeter in the Visayan archipelago. One of the best excuses we’ve ever heard from our government agencies is the lack of personnel.

The second problem is the lack of equipment like boats that would help secure the perimeter in the Visayan Sea. If there is anything that the Filipino bureaucrat knows by heart, it is to give the best excuse you can find because they just didn’t do what the Filipino paid them to do. Then there’s the matter of corruption. Yes, how will we know if the BFAR agents apprehend a commercial fishing boat and this would end up in some kind of “Cashabutan?” After all, there’s no one in the high seas to witness them.  Abangan!

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