Lobregat frees turtles

Mayor Celso Lobregat on Friday spearheaded the release of turtles at the Cawa-cawa Boulevard in line with the city government’s continuous program on wildlife protection.
The turtles came from the Zamboanga State College of Marine Sciences and Technology (ZSCMST) hatchery. Their release highlighted the observance of  Dia de Limpiesa na Zamboanga which formed part of the celebration of Philippine Environment Month.

Among those released were 3 days-old green sea turtles and at least seven 8-month old hawksbill turtles. Because of their age, the turtles were released without metal tags. Lobregat was assisted by Parks and Wildlife Coastal Zone Management Sector (PAWCZMS) Director Rudy Aradanas and Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Edgardo Callantas. Last month, Lobregat was conferred with a plaque of recognition by the DENR for the cityâ??s program on wildlife conservation. City Agriculturist Diosdado Palacat, whose office implements the cityâ??s wildlife conservation program, also received similar recognition. Since 2005, the city government has rescued and released a total of twenty-five (25) sea turtles, the latest of which was Fortunato, a male sea turtle rescued by a fisherman in Barangay Bolong last month.  Fortunato was immediately turned over to the Office of the City Agriculturist for tagging and was later released.Mayor Lobregat personally leads the release of the turtles.  In one occasion, he was assisted by no less than American Ambassador Kristie Kenney in releasing Espiritu de la Paz de Zamboanga, a male green sea turtle off the waters of Paseo del Mar. In another occasion, Archbishop Romulo Valles assisted the mayor in the release of the mammal at the Bolong beach. Prior to the release of the turtles off the Cawa-cawa coastline, Lobregat spearheaded the cleanliness drive at the port area to remind the public about the need to sustain cleanliness and sanitation. He stressed that everybody is a waste generator, thus, everybody has a role to ensure that the environment is safe and clean. â??Dia de Limpiesa na Zamboangaâ? was undertaken by the city government throught he Office of the City Environment and Natural Resources (OCENR) in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Regional Office and with the participation of various sectors of city. (CITY HALL PR – Sheila Covarrubias)

Via Zamboanga Today