WILDLIFE enforcement personnel of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) were deployed at the port area of Cebu to stop the delivery of turtle or pawikan meat.
Regional DENR spokesperson Eddie Llamedo said the Pawikan Task Force will monitor the ports for any shipment of turtle meat.
Last Monday, DENR Regional Executive Director Isabelo Montejo and the Pawikan Task Force went to Pasil to check if pawikan stew is still being served in eateries within the area.
A tarpaulin was tacked elaborating the provision of Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Protection and Conservation Act of the Philippines across the eatery owned by Cristy Tulod, the first eatery to serve pawikan stew in barangay Pasil.
“We have not caught them serving the dish. Instead we told them that we are serious about the law (RA 9147),”Llamedo said.
He also said the eatery owners committed not to cook and serve pawikan stew.
“We have cited in the tarpaulin the penalties for those who will violate the law,”he added.
Last month, DENR released four green sea turtles in Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary.
The endangered sea turtles were rescued from captivity inside a private zoo in Cebu City. /Correspondent Joy Cherry S. Quito
CAPITOL TO REPLACE BROKEN JAIL PUMP
THE Provincial Capitol will replace the water pump at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) after it broke down last week.
Provincial Engr. Hector Jamora said they prepared the purchase request for the equipment which costs anywhere from P300,000 to P400,000.
Twelve tankers are now rationing water at the CPDRC to supply water for 1,617 inmates.
Acting Jail Warden Romeo Manansala said the overheating may have caused the submersible pump to break down at dawn last Saturday.
He said the rationed water is used for drinking, cooking and flushing waste from the facility’s 120 toilets.
The Capitol official said they are monitoring each inmate for heat-related diseases. /Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus