The City of Mati’s scenic Pujada Bay went beyond the expectations of the two foreign validators from the Most Beautiful Bays in the World Organization (MBBWO).
MBBWO founder and manager Bruno Bodard and treasurer Guy Ettiene Rousset toured communities around Pujada Bay for the past three days. The two also visited and snorkeled in the islands of Pujada and Waniban.
In its entirety, the two foreign validators said, Pujada went beyond their expectations when it comes to cleanliness and environmental protection and management. Asked of the chances of Pujada Bay being accepted in the prestigious list of MBBWO, Bodard and Rousset said they will have to refrain from giving any answer to that since the decision would come from the Board and not just from one person.
Boudard explained that they have several Vice Presidents representing several continents in the world that would cast their vote whether to accept or deny the application. Bodard said that as validators they will come up with a report and submit the same to the Board before casting their votes. He said this usually takes two months. Bodard and Rousset, however, said that Pujada Bay is indeed very clean and beautiful. Bodard said it was only in Waniban Island where they saw some plastic wastes littering the island and the sea.
He suggested for the authorities to coordinate with private owners of islands and resorts around Pujada Bay to maintain its cleanliness and protect it from environmental degradation.
City of Mati Mayor Michelle Nakpil Rabat meanwhile revealed that the City Government would soon implement a master plan for the protection of Pujada Bay. She said that they will be putting up sewage treatment plants to ensure that wastes from households going out to Pujada Bay are treated and cleaned before they are dumped in the bay.
Mayor Michelle said the government would also have catchment basins to ensure that no plastics and other garbage would reach the bay.
In 1994, the Pujada Bay Landscape and Seascape was declared as a protected area under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) through Presidential Proclamation No. 431. Covering about 20,0887.43 hectares of protected landscapes and seascapes, Pujada Bay is bounded by the Guang-guang Peninsula in the east and the Pujada Peninsula in the west. PR
