By Leilanie G. Adriano
Staff Reporter
Bacarra, Ilocos Norte—Local officials here are urging the
Maritime Group of the Philippine National Police to establish a detachment here
to run against illegal fishermen proliferating in the area.
Bacarra mayor Nicomedes dela
Cruz said he is offering the municipality’s speedboat to be used by the
maritime police to patrol the coastal waters here including its neighboring
towns with several reported incidents of blast fishing.
According to Mr. Dela Cruz,
blast fishing has become rampant in his territorial jurisdiction with the
absence of law enforcers and their lack of logistics to run after them.
To date, the 104th Maritime
PNP based at Gaang, Currimao, SPO4 Rommel Lazaga, the team leader, said they
only have six personnel covering the 150-kilometer coastline of Ilocos Norte as
two more personnel are currently on schooling to advance their career.
He admitted that their
mobility in law enforcement response is very limited due to lack of resources
and the lack of speedboat to secure highly permeable navigable waters,
ports, and coastal areas against narcotics and human trafficking, terrorism,
piracy, smuggling, poaching and other forms of criminal activities.
To augment the PNP maritime
personnel, P/Sr. Supt. Antonio Mendoza, acting provincial director of the
Ilocos Norte Police Provincial Office (INPPO said he will be deploying at least
two personnel from the INPPO to re-activate the establishment of a detachment at
Barangay Natba, in Bacarra.
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