Two (2) newly-purchased fiberglass motorboats of the Provincial Environment Management Office (PEMO) were inaugurated recently in Lake Sebu with the blessing of an officiating priest.
Supplied by Stoneworks Company based in General Santos City, the 2 motorboats belong to the 15-passenger capacity and 4-passenger capacity, and equipped with 40-horsepower and 10-horsepower motor engines, respectively.
It replaced the old and dilapidated motorboat and traditional canoes being serviced by the newly-established Lake Warden Office set-up a few months ago by PEMO with a 4-manpower complement.
The motorboats were acquired under the Lake Sebu Rehabilitation, Conservation and Development Program that aims to restore the lake and river systems of Lake Sebu into its pristine state through rehabilitation, conservation and development of its natural resources.
Earlier, PEMO Forest and Inland Water Division chief Forester Mary Jane Manlisis together with Senior Environment Management Specialist Loida Villa and Lake Supervisor Carlos Legaste toured the lake to conduct an ocular inspection of an alleged violation of the Municipal Fishery Ordinance of a fish cage operator particularly on the allowable length of fish cages.
The group was accompanied by the town’s Municipal Agriculture Office 9MAO0 officials and staff during the inspection which decided to call the parties concerned during their regular meeting to inform them of their findings.
“The fiber-glass motorboats will help us a lot particularly in our mandate to maintain the cleanliness of the lake and to conserve and preserve its natural state,’ Legaste disclosed in an interview during the inauguration.
During the summer months of this year, the Lake Warden Office with MAO conducted a massive clean-up drive in Lake Sebu and Lake Seloton that hauled tons of water hyacinths and illegal structures.
