BACOLOD City – A 17-year-old boy and two other fishermen were arrested during a joint anti-illegal fishing operation inside the Sagay Marine Reserve in Sagay City, Negros Occidental, on August 4.
Police identified the suspects only by their aliases: “Dodong,” 26, the boat captain; a 17-year-old crew member; and “Tantan,” 36, another crew member. All are residents of Barangay Washington, Escalante City, Negros Occidental.
According to the Sagay Component City Police Station (CCPS), the suspects were apprehended at about 3 a.m. during a joint seaborne patrol conducted with the Sagay Bantay Dagat Task Force in the Matabas area of the protected marine reserve.
Authorities said the three were caught engaging in an illegal fishing method locally known as “pamo,” a prohibited activity under Republic Act No. 9106, or the Sagay Marine Reserve Law.
Recovered during the operation were a fishing boat powered by two 13-horsepower engines worth an estimated P50,000, a fishing net valued at about P40,000, and one kilogram of milkfish (bulaw) estimated at P180. The total value of the seized items was pegged at P90,180.
The confiscated items were turned over to the Sagay Marine Reserve-Protected Area Management Board (SMR-PAMB) for proper disposition.
The two adult suspects remain under the custody of the Sagay CCPS pending the filing of appropriate charges, while the minor was placed under the care of the station’s Women and Children Protection Desk in accordance with existing juvenile justice procedures./PN
