CEBU CITY, Cebu, July 30 (PIA) -- Tudela Mayor Greman "Jojo" Solante attributed to the local government unit's (LGU) strong marine conservation and protection campaign the sufficient supply of fish in their municipality.

During the Network Briefing News interview hosted by Presidential Communications Operations Office Sec. Martin Andanar on July 29, Solante said they enforced the Republic Act 8550 known as the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 and its amendments and local ordinances to conserve the marine and coastal resources of their town.

Solante said the supply of fish is especially sufficient in the whole Camotes Groups of Islands in Cebu.

He enumerated different kinds of fish like the "isda sa bato, pugapo, katambak, dugso," among others as abundant in their municipality.

To aid their fisherfolks during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, Solante said they installed 14 fish ponds or payaw where the fisherfolk can catch tuna.

The mayor also noted that going aggressive in the marine conservation campaign helped protect their mangrove cover well, which in turn became a big help during the onslaught of the Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) in November 2013 where Tudela had zero casualty.

"Even if we already have centennial mangrove here, we continue to rehabilitate through planting and protect them by prohibiting its cutting and usage in livestock," Solante said. 

"The IEC (information and education campaign) is also a big part of it and making people understand what the mangrove and corals mean for our marine and coastal resources to be sustainable for our food security," he added.

Solante thanked the Rare Philippines, an international conservation organization, as they were "a big help to us," adding that "they empowered our stakeholders in the island in marine conservation and they provided livelihood."

Meanwhile, Solante highlighted their backyard gardening program launched in December 2019 where each household was required to establish a backyard garden and would be provided with seeds/seedlings and the mechanics.

"We conducted a contest with food packs as the prize for each family who will establish a backyard garden. Our governor adopted this and made this into the SUGBUsog Program and expanded it into several categories: backyard, containerized, etc.," he said. 

There is now a SUGBUsog sa Paaralan and SUGBUsog in every police station in Cebu, among others.

Due to the excess in supply for personal consumption among families, Solante said entrepreneurs here sell their products to the nearby Ormoc City, Province of Leyte.

He said Tudela is near Leyte - Ormoc City, Baybay City, and Merida town.

"Since last year, we have opened Camotes to Ormoc City, Leyte route via Roll-on Roll-off vessel and motorbanca," he added.

As their town is more accessible now, Solante invited local tourists to visit, highlighting the different tourist attractions.

"The four towns of Camotes islands complement each other. We don't have white sand beaches but we have the Bukilat Cave. It has seven holes at the surface which serve as the light source of the cave; it's like a cathedral and you can swim during high tide because it's only 300 to 400 meters away from the shoreline," he said.

The mayor added that they have the Busay falls which is around two kilometers from their Poblacion.

"Recently, we opened the Bugahok Cave in Barangay Portobello which is catergorized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources as Class 2A, which means it is open to experienced cavers or guided educational tours/visits," Solante said. (IDC/PIA7)