Veteran
broadcaster Pedy Bolanio and Glee Orcullo indubitably make a perfect pair. I am
referring to the kind of partnership they have onboard their dyRD program, Rampa Showbiz.
 |
Veteran
anchorman Pedy Bolanio (in photo)
and Glee Orcullo tackle issues in a manner
that is light and free-wheeling on dyRD’s Rampa
Showbiz.
Courtesy: Jeanette Laila
Busano
|
Try
tuning in every Monday to Friday (except Wednesday) at 3 to 3:30 p.m., 1161 on
your AM radio dial, and there you will find how Pedy and Glee tackle showbiz and
boxing news and other issues in a manner that is light and free-wheeling. They
make sure the community gets to hear the
latest showbiz and sports news as its finest. Unlike other programs, when they laugh, they are
free to laugh and their voices remain normally calm.
When
Cindy Ella, Inday Tikling and Sister Rose left the program, Glee came in. It’s been four years now since Pedy and Glee
became partners on the airwaves. It was management’s decision to take Glee in
as Pedy’s partner.
Pedy
knows Glee’s strength as a journalist. She does write news and report news on
radio with another veteran broadcaster Fred Araneta on dyRD’s Breakfast News (Monday to Saturday at 7
a.m.) for eight years.
Pedy
and Glee agreed listeners enjoy the lighter side of the world.
***
Ray hunting threatens ocean's 'gentle giants'
They
are known as the ocean's gentle giants, but an alarming rise in manta ray
hunting could threaten the very existence of the species.
Manta
fishing has become big business for fisheries who are selling their gills to be
used in soups and traditional Chinese medicine.
Last
week, a couple was arrested after the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel
saw the slabs of sliced manta ray, locally known as “sanga,” on the couple’s
motorbanca in the port of Baclayon town.
 |
The
manta ray is known as the 'gentle giant' of the ocean,
but hunting has become
so common that experts
believe the species could be close to extinction.
Courtesy: Ralph Barajan/PCG-Panglao
|
They
bought two tons of manta ray meat for P40,000 which they intended to dry and
later sell for at least P300 per kilo.
But
instead of reeking in profit, Gomer Valeroso, 49, and his wife Milagrosa
Valeroso, 47, ended up in jail.
The
two would face charges for violating the Philippine Fisheries Code (Republic
Act 8550) that prohibits the hunting, killing or selling rare, threatened or
endangered species listed in the Convention on
International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Manta
ray, known as “gentle giant” is on the list of endangered species.
Violators
face a fine of P120,000 or prison term of 12 to 20 years.
Erick
Salcedo, deputy commander of Philippine Coast Guard -Tagbilaran City, said
their personnel in PCG substation in Panglao and Pamilacan islands conducted a
mobile patrol on Thursday afternoon near Baluarte in Baclayon town.
They
spotted a motorbanca (MBCA The Original Double D) which was loaded with cut-up
manta ray meat while still docked at the pier.
 |
The
manta ray is known as the 'gentle giant' of the ocean,
but hunting has become
so common that experts
believe the species could be close to extinction.
Courtesy: Ralph Barajan/PCG-Panglao
|
A
Coast Guard personnel also later found slices of manta ray meat inside a yellow
jeepney (with plate number 074807).
It
turned out that couple transported the manta ray meat from Jagna town to
Baclayon on board the jeep and then loaded these to the motorbanca so they
could take these home on Pamilacan Island.
Salcedo
said they contacted the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to
check if the pieces of meat belonged to the endangered species of manta rays.
Pedro
Milana, Jr. in-charge of BFAR-Bohol, confirmed that the cut-up marine animal
belonged to manta alfredi and manta birostris both protected under Fisheries
Administrative Order (FAO) 193 and Republic Act 9147, also known as the
Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act.
The
couple, however, claimed they didn’t know that what they bought were endangered
species.
They
said they bought the 2,000 kilos of meat from Tita Oclarit, a resident of Jagna
town, for P40,000.
The
fishes measured at least two meters each.
“We
didn’t know that what we were doing was illegal. We bought the meat because
this is our livelihood,” said Valeroso.
 |
The
manta ray is known as the 'gentle giant' of the ocean,
but hunting has become
so common that experts
believe the species could be close to extinction.
Courtesy: Ralph Barajan/PCG-Panglao
|
Valeroso,
who sells dried fish, said they intended to dry the meat and sell it P300-400
per kilo.
The
confiscated manta ray was buried by BFAR in Calape town.
Manta
ray can grow up to 25 feet across and weigh around 5,100 lb.
It
is considered a “vulnerable” species in the International Union for the
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of threatened species.
The
BFAR also prohibits taking, selling, purchasing, possessing, transporting and
exporting manta rays and whale sharks.
A
fine of P500 to P5,000 and imprisonment for six months to four years or both
will be imposed on the violator.
Still,
hunting has become so common that experts believe the species could be close to
extinction.
Salcedo
said the manta ray may have been caught in the seas off Bohol where manta ray
hunting has long been recorded in Bohol waters especially in Pamilacan Island,
which used to be the lair of former hunters of dolphin, Bryde’s whales, whale
sharks and manta rays in the area.
Fishermen
catch manta rays, locally called “sanga,” to cook them as “kinilaw”(ceviche) or
“linabog” (a stew-based dish cooked in tomatoes and chilis).
But
some customers preferred the dried stuff.
Dried
gills and meat from manta rays and stingrays are allegedly sold to Chinese
pharmacies, as Chinese traditional medicine believes the meat can cure chicken
pox, infertility and cancer.
***
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IN THE NEWS
PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER
Couplenabbed for trying to sell meat of endangered manta ray
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/875065/coupled-nabbed-for-trying-to-sell-meat-of-endangered-manta-ray
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/875065/coupled-nabbed-for-trying-to-sell-meat-of-endangered-manta-ray
2,000 kgof manta ray meat seized from Bohol couple
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/875131/2000-kg-of-manta-ray-meat-seized-from-bohol-couple
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/875131/2000-kg-of-manta-ray-meat-seized-from-bohol-couple
GMA NEWS
