Military-civilian task force to be formed to protect Visayan waters

From Business World (Jun 2): Military-civilian task force to be formed to protect Visayan waters

A VISAYAN Sea Safety and Security Inter-Agency Task Force will be formed to protect the waters of the Visayas group of islands from terrorists and other criminal elements.

Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd L. Dino said the task force will be formed through a Memorandum of Understanding that stakeholders will sign on June 5.

At the frontline of the security task force would be the military’s maritime forces as well as the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources through its patrol boats used in anti-illegal fishing monitoring.

Civilians, including fishermen, would also be tapped.

“We have to protect the Visayan seas especially Cebu because it is a mega city. It is the heart of the Philippines,” Mr. Dino told participants of a forum on marine safety participated in by stakeholders in the region.

“We should not allow a repeat of the Bohol incident. We should not wait for another local terrorist group from coming over and sowing fears to the Visayan people,” he added.

http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Nation&title=military-civilian-task-force-to-be-formed-to-protect-visayan-waters&id=146147