BASCO, Batanes — A total of 47 Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) members, who formally graduated here on Sunday, had pledged to guard Batanes’ islands including the foreign poaching-prone Mavulis island in Itbayat town.
“We are ever ready to do our assigned tasks in securing the islands,” Walter Nunez, president of the civilian auxiliary class that finished the 45-day basic military training, told the Philippine News Agency in an interview.
The new CAFGU members trained hard to help in securing the Batanes islands, he added.
Navy Commodore Nicholz Driz, Task Force Karagatan commander, said the high seas have been threatened by the alleged intrusion of fishermen from other countries in the area.
He said the presence of troop members and CAFGU volunteers is believed to lessen illegal fishing and poaching, aside from preventing destruction to flora and fauna endemic to the islands in Batanes.
“The maritime presence and with civilian volunteers as force multipliers, would strengthen security in the islands of Batanes, “ Driz added.
