VZCZCXRO7591
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHML #1872/01 2460832
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 030832Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5086
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 001872 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO PEACE CORPS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL EINV EAID RP SCUL
SUBJECT:  AMBASSADOR?S TRIP TO PUERTO PRINCESA HIGHLIGHTS POLICE 
COOPERATION, ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  An August 24, 2009, trip by the Ambassador to Puerto 
Princesa City in the island province of Palawan emphasized U.S. 
support for education, regional and local law enforcement concerns, 
and the environment.  The Ambassador visited a school supported by 
the Peace Corps, attended a building dedication ceremony for the 
Philippine National Police Special Boat Unit?s new headquarters, and 
participated in a roundtable discussion on the live reef fish trade 
in Palawan.  At each of the events, she was able to emphasize the 
benefits of cooperation between the people of the U.S. and the 
Philippines.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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TAW KABUI SCHOOL FOR A CHILD 
---------------------------- 
 
¶2. The Ambassador first visited Taw Kabui School for a Child, a 
school for children with special needs located in Barangay Tagburos 
in Puerto Princesa City.  A Peace Corps Volunteer based in Puerto 
Princesa helps with physical education classes at the school, has 
conducted several training sessions and workshops, and assisted in 
the construction of the school?s resource center.  A Peace Corps 
Response Volunteer has also been recently assigned to the school and 
will help to develop the staff?s teaching skills.  During her tour 
of the school, the only such facility in Palawan, the Ambassador 
observed several classroom sessions, interacted with the children 
and teachers, and discussed the challenges and rewards of working 
with special needs children with the school administrators.  In a 
brief statement to the staff and students, she emphasized the 
positive impact of the partnership between the Peace Corps and Taw 
Kabui, and praised their efforts to improve the lives of the 
children with special needs in Puerto Princesa. 
 
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PNP SPECIAL BOAT UNIT DEDICATION CEREMONY 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  In 2006, Embassy Manila partnered with the Philippine National 
Police (PNP) and the City of Puerto Princesa to fund a project to 
develop a small maritime law enforcement unit with intercept 
capability.  The unit, the Maritime Group Special Boat Unit, is 
based in Puerto Princesa and will be deployed in the southwestern 
Philippines in the region between Palawan and Mindanao.   It will 
coordinate with both the existing Special Boat Unit of the 
Indonesian Polisi Perairan as well as the Royal Malaysian Marine 
Police, and will carry out maritime surveillance and response 
operations, seaborne law enforcement and interdiction, surface and 
subsurface rescue operations, and maritime forensic investigations. 
The project includes the recruitment and training of personnel, the 
construction of a headquarters building for the Special Boat Unit in 
Palawan, and the purchase of four patrol boats. 
 
¶4.  The Ambassador participated in the official turnover and opening 
ceremony for the Special Boat Unit headquarters building during her 
August 24 visit.  The ceremony included a ribbon-cutting, signing of 
the deed of donation of the Special Boat Unit building, and remarks 
by Chief of the Philippine Police General Jesus A. Versoza and the 
Ambassador.  General Versoza highlighted the benefits to the economy 
that enhanced sea-lane security provided, while the Ambassador noted 
the success of the partnership between the U.S. Embassy and the PNP, 
and praised the increased capacity of the PNP in the fight against 
crime, terrorism, human trafficking, and environmental pollution. 
 
------------------------------- 
LIVE REEF FISH TRADE DISCUSSION 
------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  A discussion on the live reef fish trade concluded the day?s 
activities.  Hosted by the World Wildlife Foundation ? Philippines 
(WWF), participants included Lory Tan of WWF, Edward Hagedorn, Mayor 
of Puerto Princesa City, Roberto Rodriguez, Mayor of Taytay City in 
Northern Palawan, Palawan Live Fish Trade Association President 
Dennis Dela Cuesta, John Pontillas of the Palawan Council for 
Sustainable Development, as well as the Ambassador and USAID?s 
officer in charge of the Office of Energy and Environment.  The 
discussion took place while cruising on Puerto Princesa Bay aboard 
the MV Navorca, a boat owned and operated by WWF. 
 
¶6.  The live reef fish trade is important to the Philippines and the 
Coral Triangle region.  The U.S. Government supports live reef fish 
trade through the Coral Triangle Initiative, a multilateral 
partnership among the governments of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New 
Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste to safeguard 
the natural coastal and fishery resources in the region.  The live 
reef fish trade contributes $26 million to Philippine economy 
annually; about 60% of the supply is sourced from Palawan, and th 
industry is a major source of income for its reidents.  The 
industry in its current state is not sustainable, however, as 
overfishing and illegalfishing methods, such as cyanide use, have 
depleed fish populations and damaged the environment. 
 
MANILA 00001872  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶7.  The day?s discussion focused on the range of management actions 
that could be taken to respond to declining live reef fish trade. 
The options that were discussed included a complete fishing ban as 
mandated by the city of Puerto Princesa, regulation of the trade 
through a quota system as advocated by the Palawan Council for 
Sustainable Development and the Provincial government, and 
sustainable fishery management at the source level as attempted in 
the Taytay area. The participants were in agreement that the live 
reef fish trade must be managed better in order to provide a 
sustainable income for fishermen and traders of Palawan, and 
provided a variety of viewpoints on the best way to accomplish this 
goal.  The discussion demonstrated that stakeholders cannot move 
forward with the management of the live reef fish trade if they do 
not collaborate, and that a range of management actions will be 
needed to address the issue. 
 
KENNEY