The P200,000 reward being offered by an environmentalist group to fast-track the arrest of armed suspects in the recent attack of a marine sanctuary outpost in Sagay City, has boosted police efforts to identify the perpetrators and mastermind of the incident, police chief Supt. William Senoron said yesterday.

Senoron, Sagay police chief, said they are now validating information relayed to them on possible suspects in the strafing and attack that led to the injuries of two Bantay Dagat members.

The attack was staged against the Maca Reef outpost, about 13 kilometers away from shoreline of Brgy.Old Sagay, Sagay City .

Sagay police investigators are looking into the possibility of a ”gun-for-hire” by a group of influential fishermen or relatives of those they had arrested for illegal fishing within the 32,000-hectare Sagay Marine Reserve.

Senoron said fishing boats which came from as far as Iloilo , tried to penetrate the marine sanctuary after the attack , thinking that the Maca Reef outpost was already abandoned

To the dismay of fishermen, the anti-illegal fishing campaign was further intensified with participation of the 6 th Regional Mobile Group troopers, he added.

Sagay police investigators have initially ruled out involvement of insurgents due to lack of evidence.

The left leg of Bantay Dagat member Roger Bulahan was hit by a bullet, and had to be amputated, police said.

Police investigations show the armed group was looking for firearms and two Bantay Dagat members, identified only through their first names as Mario and Rene, who are always in the forefront in arresting and filing of cases against arrested persons engaged in illegal fishing.

SMR records also showed an increase in number of persons arrested for illegal fishing within the 32,000-hectare marine sanctuary last year, compared to 2006, police records showed*GPB

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