Liloan town officials led by Mayor Christina Garcia-Frasco led the launching of their Community Action for Reforestation and Environmental Sustainability (CARES) program in this July 2017 photo. /Municipality of Liloan FB page
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Municipality of Liloan will get to benefit from P1 million worth of fisheries livelihood project from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Central Visayas (BFAR-7) after the town that is located in northern Cebu won as the second most outstanding coastal community in the region in 2018.
The Malinis at Masaganang Karagatan (MMK) program was implemented by BFAR-7 to encourage Local Government Units to practice coastal resource management.
Johann Tejada, BFAR-7’s Fisheries Resource Management Section (FRMS) chief and the focal person of the MMK program, said Liloan town that is located 22 kilometers north of Cebu City was among the three Local Government Units in the region that joined their MMK search in 2018.
“The MMK search is to encourage LGUs to improve their coastal resource management and to determine their level of management kay naa man sad ni scoring system,” Tejada said in a phone interview with CDN Digital.
BFAR used as criteria in the selection process the LGUs effort to deter illegal fishing, conserve marine resources through the establishment of a closed season fishing for some species, garbage management, establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs) and mangroves rehabilitation.
Liloan Mayor Christina Garcia-Frasco posted a copy of BFAR-7’s letter signed by OIC Regional Director Alfeo Piloton on her Facebook page on Monday night, April 15, to announce their victory in the MMK program.
Piloton said town officials can already avail of their P1 million award provided that they comply with BFAR guidelines for the release of the allocation.
“In view of this, kindly make necessary coordination with our Provincial Fisheries Office-Cebu that will be implemented/established following the attached guidelines for the utilization of (the) award,” Piloton said in his March 18 letter to Frasco.
Tejada, however, begged off from naming the other two winners in the MKK program competition since they are yet to send formal communication to the two other LGUs. /dcb