City Mayor and Pantalan Inter-Agency Committee (PIAC) chairperson John Dalipe yesterday led the ceremonial signing of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) which shall guide the enforcement of City Ordinance No. 553.

The local chief executive expressed elation over the finalization and the subsequent signing of the said document that defines the functions and duties of all key offices and agencies relative to the construction and operation of ports, piers, fish and beach landings, finger/mini wharves, shipyards and other similar structures, as well as the regulation and monitoring of the same.

Signed in March 2021, City Ordinance No. 553 regulates the establishment, construction, expansion, operation and proliferation of ports, wharves, piers, fish and/or beach landings, finger/mini wharves, shipyards and other similar structures.

The said piece of local legislation seeks to arrest the proliferation of illegally constructed and operating structures that can serve as entry and exit points for smuggled contrabands and prohibited drugs, human trafficking activities, and other criminal activities.

Mayor Dalipe was joined by other PIAC members, to wit: City Administrator and PIAC first vice chairperson Atty. Wendell Sotto, Councilor and second vice chairperson VP Elago (chairperson, Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Peace and Order), Councilor Al-Jihan Edding (chairperson, Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Fisheries and Aquatic Resources), Councilor Aida Paniorotan, as well as Office of the City Agriculturist Officer-in-Charge Arben Magdugo, City Planning and Development Coordinator Ma. Luz Agbayani, and Business Permits and Licenses Office chief Benjie Barredo.

Heads of relevant national line agencies such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources–Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (DENR-CENRO), Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), Marine Industry Authority (MARINA), Philippine Fishery Development Authority (PFDA), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO), and Task Force Zamboanga (TFZ), were likewise on hand to affix their signature. (Claudine Uniana)