Revive Tacloban’s mangroves

Our profound gratitude to Jurgenne H. Primavera and company who reported the result of their very educational and enlightening assessment of the devastation wrought by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” on the mangrove ecosystem in Eastern Visayas, including those along the shores of Barangay 83-A, San Jose in our very own Tacloban City (“Mangroves of E. Visayas need protection,” Talk of the Town, 6/15/14).

The group’s observation, recommendations and conclusion deserve utmost consideration by the government agency tasked to rehabilitate the damaged mangrove ecosystem. We also appreciate their special recommendation to President Aquino for the proper use of the P1 billion allocated by the national government to achieve optimum results from the rehabilitation efforts.

Aware of the economic benefits that can be derived from the rehabilitation of the mangrove ecosystem, our newly formed  people’s cooperative has adopted the advocacy of supporting the government’s thrusts in the fishery sector, which include the conservation, protection and sustained management of Cancabato Bay and its aquatic resources through the massive replanting of mangroves and talisay seedlings along its shorelines, and the cleanup and desilting of the bay.

This reminds us of a city ordinance passed in 2003, titled, “An Ordinance Declaring the Cancabato Bay of Tacloban City a Marine Protected and Fishery Reservation Area.” This ordinance also allocated P5 million for the conservation of Cancabato Bay. Unfortunately, until that fateful day of Nov. 8, 2013,  our Cancabato Bay never saw any improvement at all.

Instead, it continued to deteriorate.

We have yet to learn a lot about mangrove reforestation and marine ecosystem development, but with the help and guidance from the  City Agriculturist Office, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the City Assessor’s Office of Tacloban City and NGOs like the science-based group of Primavera, we are confident we can revive both the mangrove trees and marine ecosystem in Cancabato Bay, by God’s grace.

—PETE L. ILAGAN, president,

National Association of Electricity

Consumers for Reforms