Have you heard of "Operation Daybreak"? Perhaps this is the 1st time they have named this but the concept is that it is about catching Environmental Law Violators. The 1st time I saw this or something close to this is through the Santuwaryo: Cebuano Film Experience which was a documentary on Cebu's local fisheries in the province.
Daybreak:
SWIFT, painful and public.” This was the brief the Visayan Sea Squadron (VSS) took for itself when it geared up last weekend for what could be its biggest operation against illegal fishing.
The team is a composite of volunteer lawyers and citizens, backed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 and special operatives from the Philippine Navy.
For months now, the coastal residents of Sagay, Negros Occidental have been complaining of blast noise from the sea. There had been reports that fishers from the island of Lipayran in Bantayan, Cebu have been using explosives.
The area had long been in the red list of the VSS for a couple of years, so that when reports of dynamite fishing persisted and were confirmed by the NBI 7,
environmental lawyer and Ramon Magsaysay awardee Antonio Oposa Jr. and lawyer Ben Cabrido immediately sought permission from RTC Branch 23 Judge Generosa
Labra to allow the VSS to search the area.
The team was granted 12 search warrants, making the operation the biggest offensive against blast fishers in the country, says Oposa.
He branded the move as “Operation Daybreak” and customized caps for the whole fleet with exactly those words.
Scrapbook
Oposa also instructed a group of law students to make a scrapbook that will document the operation and turn it into a model for environmental law enforcement.
It would take note of every detail—from the checklist for dry box contents (“You don’t want plastic on land, but you definitely need plastic in the sea,” says Oposa) to ensuring the chain of custody for the material evidence.
On the eve of Operation Daybreak, the group finally knew the exact location. All respondents of the 12 search warrants were in the island of Lipayran. The squadron, whose members would approach from different points in the nearby islands, was scheduled to jump off at exactly 2 a.m. and converge in the sea to wait for daybreak.
Experiment
The plan seemed ironed out down to the last detail, the tides and sea currents included. That was to ensure the “swift” part of the operation, and it was “public” enough with the fleet having about 50 volunteers on board.
“We want to emphasize that this is a citizen-driven operation,” said Oposa.
But as with any experiment, it was not free of glitches. “Reminds me of Murphy’s Law,” says Oposa. “If anything can go wrong, it will.”
A bit past midnight, one of the navy boats could not leave because it did not have a “directive.” This was a minor setback, though, as the bigger gunship was well on its way from Cebu City carrying two bomb-sniffing canines. The Philippine Navy had also sent a patrol plane hovering in the vicinity.
The boat carrying the volunteers was stuck for some two hours in shallow waters and unable to put its engine on full throttle, as the tide was unusually low.
The third and final glitch came when, nearer the targeted island past 4 a.m., all the mobile networks’ signals proved elusive.
This left the rest of the group with no contact with the NBI, who, it was learned later, went on anyway with securing the area and conducted the search as early as 4 a.m., although not simultaneously serving all the 12 search warrants.
It should be a lesson learned, Oposa said.
He asked: If, along the way, the dogs will detect an explosive in a house that is not a subject of a search warrant, can the operatives break into the house<
This left the paralegal volunteers discussing the matter.
A student’s question caused some comic banter: Can the dog’s actions be taken as personal knowledge<
Apprehended
The 12 search warrants yielded but one successful raid.
Samuel Jamili, 41, was caught with sacks of ammonium nitrate and home-made dynamite in softdrink bottles.
According to the NBI, led by agents Jose Ermie Monsanto and Arnel Pura, the amount of chemicals can make about 2,000 dynamite sticks and would cost about P15,000, net.
That amount of chemicals can sweep about 10 hectares of marine life, said Oposa.
Monsanto says Jamili will face three cases: violation of RA 8550 or the fisheries code; illegal possession of explosives, and the Comelec gun ban.
Jamili had allegedly figured in intelligence reports as the main supplier in the island.
Following the raid, a supposed delivery of more ammonium nitrates from Panay did not come.
Jamili, a father of two, suffers from paralysis in the lower half of his body and limbs. During the arrest, an NBI operative had to carry him out of the house.
Jamili broke down when his daughter wailed and tugged at his pants.
“Maluoy intawn mo nako, sir. Wa man gud koy ipa-eskwela sa akong anak (Please have pity, sir. I need money to send my daughter to school),” he said. His eldest
daughter is now in junior year as a Hotel and Restaurant Management student in Cebu City.
The daughter cried and knelt before operatives, begging for them to spare her father.
Statement
Jamili was, however, turned over to Barangay Captain Orlando Aliw for custody until the case is filed in court today.
When the neighborhood gathered, Oposa scolded Aliw, and told him he could be sued, too, for negligence of duty.
He remembered Aliw committing to curb illegal fishing once in a gathering of barangay officials. He said he would have brought lechon to the island as a reward, but instead came with a whole fleet of law enforcers, following frustrating reports.
Oposa told the residents to help stop illegal fishing. “Unsa pa may makaon sa inyong anak kung hutdon ninyo’g pabuto tanang isda< (What will you feed your family if you kill all the fish<),” he said.
Some volunteer groups will go back to the island to show “Sangtuwaryo,” a Cebuano film that tells the story of dynamite fishers, and will educate them on alternative livelihood.
“I want a mind shift,” said Oposa, “we should be moving on from law enforcement.” (JEY)
Source:
"Testing Daybreak"
