Paz’s commitment

With the passage of a provincial ordinance that bans the catching, killing, procurement, sale and distribution of shark species or any part of their anatomy or its importation and manufacture within and outside Cebu, the Cebu provincial government has made it clear that it wants to protect the creature from poachers out to make a profit.

The ordinance obviously applies to all towns and cities in its jurisdiction like Oslob town, which counts whale shark tourism as its major revenue earner.

Its passage by the Cebu Provincial Board in last Monday’s session is sure to earn a signature from Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III but what will it do to companies that operate in Metro Cebu areas which aren’t covered by the ordinance?

That’s a matter of legal debate. The ordinance’s amendments were approved in the wake of the recent discovery of a Lapu-Lapu City-based firm that dries and imports shark fins to the lucrative Hong Kong market.

With China being a rich market, no exporter in his or her right mind would ignore the opportunity of selling their products and services to that country’s more than one billion citizens.

Unfortunately, among the products in demand are shark fins which are considered a delicacy in that country.

Even with the onset of some Westernization, the Chinese aren’t going to overhaul their food preferences overnight for anyone else anytime soon and shark fins demand is substantial enough for one Lapu-Lapu City firm to include it in its menu of export items.

Residents near the drying yard of Shell Haven Fashion International complained about the foul smell coming from the place and may not exactly care what the company does with the shark fins.

Last Tuesday, the Lapu-Lapu City’s Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) served a cease-and-desist order to the company based on the complaints of the neighbors.

Mayor Paz Radaza’s order may not exactly firm up her administration’s claim as being pro-environment but it is still a good starting point.

Whether she follows it up by asking the City Council dominated by her allies to pass an ordinance that may reflect the Cebu provincial ordinance’s expanded ban on the trade of shark species.

While her daughter in Congress promised to look into working a law that would protect the sharks, the enactment and approval of legislation for this purpose in Lapu-Lapu City which houses Shell Haven Fashion International starts right at the mayor’s doorsteps.

Would she live up to her commitment to protect the city’s environment not just for businesses but also for her constituents and for future generations of Lapu-Lapu City residents?

Only she can answer that.