Deal inked for Cordova town coastal rehab

The municipal government of Cordova has teamed up with the private and the government sector for the management, development and protection of the town’s aquatic resources.

Cordova Mayor Adelino Sitoy signed an agreement with Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) LINC-CRMG program manager Marivic Abello, DENR’s Integrated Coastal Resource Management project head Joselito Alcaria and Ocean Care Advocates Inc. (OCAI) administrator Mario Marababol at the Cordova municipal hall for the undertaking.

Under the agreement, PBSP will assist Cordova in building up its capacity to conserve and develop coastal resources, food security and livelihood for coastal communities.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources, OCAI and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in the Central Visayas, on the other hand, will handle the enforcement of coastal resource management.

The agreement is anchored on PBSP’s Linking Initiatives for Collaborative Coastal Resource Management and Governance Program (LINC-CRMG), which has already gained ground in the provinces of Bohol, Guimaras, Samar and Southern Leyte.

It is funded by the European Union.

Cordova’s Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Management Council (FARMC) will help monitor illegal activities in the town’s coastal waters.

“There will be continuous trainings of the FARMCs to strengthen their ability to respond to the needs of coastal barangays,” said Rei Cabalquinto, LINC-CRMG program officer for Lapu-Lapu City and Cordova.

The LINC-CRMG will run for two years and will cover the 10 coastal barangays of Cordova.