PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
President's Message
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Welcome, fellow anglers, to our newly redesigned website. Our Board's mandate is to make the PGFF website more attractive and attuned to the times. Part of the plan is also to make it an interactive link with all our members. The website contains a lot of information like tournament schedules and fishing results, fishing sites, PGFF history, moon phase, weather forecasts, jigging and trolling the in the Philippines, facilities in Sta Ana, Cagayan Camp, and others.. Please use it and let us know how else we can improve our website.
We would also like to welcome our colleagues from the 2017 PGFF Board. With them as our guide I have no doubt that this year will be a very exciting year.
PGFF's 75th DIAMOND Anniversary
After the very successful and memorable PGFF Christmas party in celebration of our Diamond Anniversary attended by more than 80 members and friends, we were able to dramatically increase our membership. On the financial side, PGFF continue to have a very strong balance sheet and cashflow. And as a foundation, our goal is provide excellent service to our members and not turn a profit. However your Board will ensure at least a break-even operation for this fiscal year.
Monthly Tournaments
As of date we have done 4 successful tournaments, 2 in Pantabangan, one in Subic and one in Siargao, Surigao del Norte. We also had an Inter-club Tournament attended by 114 anglers held on Feb 25-26, 2017 in Pantabangan Dam, Nueva Ecija which was hosted by Silver Jack Angler's Club. Kudos to Directors Rico Gueco, Bong Nery, Ayi Luna and Gordon Uy for all their efforts in bringing all these events to fruition. I understand that we will have another inter-club activity with the other fishing clubs to be held in our very own Sta Ana Fishing Camp in Cagayan this summer. Your officers are closely working with other clubs to makethis event a reality.
Fourteen PGFF anglers have joined the 10th Siargao International Fishing Tournament, the fourth of a series of tournaments scheduled for this year. This tournament was our first official participation in Siargao. As of this writing we heard that Director Rico Gueco was the grand winner of the tournament having won P100k+ prize money. There were other PGFF members who won. Congrats Rico & others for bringing home the bacon.
Sta Ana Camp Belongs to You
Late last November 2016, your board, together with some very hard working members, closeted themselves -for a whole-day planning workshop at Aloha Hotel. And it was here that your board made a strategic decision to focus more on the needs of the PGFF members.
New Roof for Sta Ana Camp
As a result of this planning conference we have decided to put a major face lift on our beloved fishing home and turn it into a world class fishing facility. Our PGFF Cagayan camp is now being completely rehabilitated. The camp- which is in need of major repair- has now been given a new lease on life. The entire roof is undergoing replacement and will be completed in time for the start of the fishing season. We would like to thank Directors Lito Tanseco and Bong Nery for supervising this very important project. The board has also requested our very energetic Director Edong Guzman to continue his good work as our Sta Ana Camp Manager. With him at the helm, we will see drastic improvements in the management of the camp. In addition, we are in the process of hiring competent and experienced staff to help manage the camp.
All Year Round Power
The camp now has a fully functioning 100 kilowatt genset, courtesy of our generous benefactor and Director Judes Echauz. This generator will ensure the camp with continuous electricity even during times of power outages. (If you will recall the camp had no electricity for more than a month because of a recent typhoon which directly hit Cagayan.)
Emergency Rescue
The club also has in its possession brand new handheld VHF radios and emergency satellite GPS messengers. Thus in case of emergency during tournaments, the exact location can easily be pinpointed and a rescue boat can be sent right away to rescue anglers in distress. These electronic devices & power rescue boats will boost the club’s "safety first, fish later” advocacy and provide anglers the necessary security and safety offshore.
Crew & Drivers Quarters
For the convenience of the members' ground support crew, fully furnished drivers & crew quarters with toilet and bath will be provided. There are also plans to expand air-conditioned quarters to accomodate more anglers during tournaments.
New Fishing Boats
Brand new boats with outboard engines will be made available to anglers. All of these upgrades would not have been possible without the unwavering and generous support of our good friend Judes Echauz.
Chest Freezers & Vacuum Sealers
I know that we will all have a great time catching fish. And to ensure freshness of hard fought catches, the club has procured chest freezers and vacuum sealers. There will now be a freezer in every room. With the vacuum sealer, we were told that your catch will be fresh for a good 3 months
Cable TV, Wifi & Fresh Towels
The rooms are now being renovated, including the repair and replacement of air-conditioning units. And yes our Treasurer Mayen Ordoveza promised to provide us with fresh, new towels. We will also furnish all the rooms with cable TV. And more importantly, we will also power all the rooms and the anglers lounge with broadband wifi connectivity.
Fully refurbished Kitchen
New refrigerators, freezers, grillers, cooking equipment will be purchased to further improve our kitchen operations. We will also install a separate dirty kitchen for use by non-members and crew. Thus the newly refurbished kitchen will be for the exclusive use of PGFF members.
Outdoor Barbeque Station
Lest I forget to mention, cooking on our new outdoor barbeque station is an event I am looking forward doing. It will be big enough to grill a lechon.
Training Seminars
One of our mandate as a Fishing Foundation is to promote sportsfishing. Thus we will have seminars to teach new members on fishing techniques on trolling, jigging, popping etc. In this regard we have procured the necessary computers, audio and video equipment for use in these training seminars.
Protection of the Environment
The second mandate we got from our founders is the 'Protection of the Environment'. Thus your board has formed a committee to guide us on this. One project we're looking at is how to protect our lakes like Pantabangan and Caliraya Dams from overfishing and illegal fishing. We need to coordinate closely with LGUs & other non-NGOs like World Wildlife Fund ( WWF) to implement this. WWF was very successful in rehabilitating Anilao, Batangas as world class dive spot. We might need to provide livelihood projects for the displaced fishing families if we were to help implement illegal fishing.
With all these developments, the Cagayan Camp will continue to be the showcase of PGFF and the nexus for all anglers.
But let us not forget that there are also other exciting tournaments other than in Cagayan. Tournaments will be held in Pantabangan, Palawan, Batangas, Zambales, and Siargao. Fun fishing events are also in store for the young and the not so young.
This year brings great anticipation. And as a die hard angler, I am always full of optimism. I am confident that this year will bring more fishing excitement, strengthen bonds amongst members, create new friendships, and deepen old ones. Together with our very dedicated Board of Directors, it is our mandate and our passion, to provide good service to all members thereby ensuring success and enjoyment for this year’s fishing campaign.
Fellow anglers, let 2017 be the year we make THAT fishing story of a lifetime.