One has to go to Palawan to appreciate and marvel at its beauty. The tourist spots in this province are so awesome that I’m reminded of our creator’s greatness.

And tourists – mostly Europeans – make Palawan their yearly destination for vacation. Interestingly, they are more concerned with the preservation of the island’s natural resources than their local counterparts.

Believe or not, there are still Filipino tourists that throw away their garbage in the sea to the disappointment of the visiting foreigners.

They simply could not comprehend how Filipinos could ruin their very own treasures. This is sad but it’s true.

However, we could not just sit and watch this unfortunate reality to continue. There should be sustained efforts to protect the country’s natural wealth.

That’s why I’m glad that a project aimed at saving three major bays in Puerto Princesa will soon be launched by the city government to prevent their further deterioration due to pollution.

Mayor Lucilo Bayron said they will launch the “Save Our Bays” project in the coming weeks.

It aims to protect Ulugan Bay, Honda Bay and most particularly, Puerto Princesa Bay, encompassing four coastal barangays in the city with dense populations.

The LGU is rolling our the project in hopes everyone will understand the right direction. Puerto Princesa Bay, Ulugan Bay, Honda Bay are important bodies of water, and they are sources of many good things for Puerto Princesa.

There’s no doubt that we need to save them.

The increasing pollution levels, especially in the Puerto Princesa Bay, is worsening at an alarming rate. Everyone has a role to play in addressing this issue and making a positive impact.

One of the potential solutions for protecting these bays entails relocating coastal residents who live either directly on the seas or are located in close proximity to those waters.

Preliminaries surrounding the proposed relocation had already taken place with the people who lived along the coast. The fact that the majority of replies received were positive is a very encouraging sign.

Residents have stated their willingness to cooperate in the attempts to relocate them and have acknowledged the possible dangers that come with living in susceptible places.

“The affected residents have come to realize that they are really in the danger zone. That is a problem waiting to happen. So, we have leveraged President Bongbong Marcos’ Pambansang Pabahay Program to acquire 21 hectares of land for relocation, and we are still looking for other available properties in the city where we can build dwelling units, he revealed,” the official said.

More power to you mayor!

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AUTHOR PROFILE

Mario Fetalino Jr.