Apparently yielding to protests against his leadership, the chief of Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) Aquaculture Department (AQD) ordered all division heads to tender their resignations on November 24. In a general assembly held on November 21, Dr. Rolando Platon announced that he was compelled to make "drastic decisions" to reorganize the department to meet the challenges facing his administration from the protesting staff from the department's research division.

Sorza, R. J. (2003, November 27). SEAFDEC chief gives in to protests. Today, p. 4.