TACLOBAN CITY- Hundreds of unused small outrigger boats earmarked as a gift to typhoon Yolanda victims who lost their livelihood to the November 8, 2013 catastrophe remain untouched and are deteriorating at the roadside in Brgy. Candajug in Palo, Leyte over three months after they were fabricated.
The wooden boats all painted green were reportedly donated by a private logging firm in Mindanao as its support to efforts geared towards helping fishermen whose boats were destroyed by the typhoon reclaim their source of sustenance.
The wooden boats all painted green were reportedly donated by a private logging firm in Mindanao as its support to efforts geared towards helping fishermen whose boats were destroyed by the typhoon reclaim their source of sustenance.
The vessels, 500 of them, are being kept in safety at the yard of the provincial office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the town of Palo adjacent to the MacArthur Leyte Landing Memorial Park.
Arturo N. Salazar, the Assistant Regional Director for Management Service of the DENR in the region told the Calbayog Journal that the environment agency did not spend a centavo in the fabrication of the boats. The agency's role, he explained, is merely custodial in nature.
As of press time there are no indications that the boats will be distributed to the intended recipients soon as the sea worthiness of the vessels are being questioned by some players in the fishing industry.
Arturo N. Salazar, the Assistant Regional Director for Management Service of the DENR in the region told the Calbayog Journal that the environment agency did not spend a centavo in the fabrication of the boats. The agency's role, he explained, is merely custodial in nature.
As of press time there are no indications that the boats will be distributed to the intended recipients soon as the sea worthiness of the vessels are being questioned by some players in the fishing industry.
