MALACAÑANG said on Wednesday that while it is “thrilled,” with the recent confiscation of the P35 million worth of Philippine marine resources at the Port of Manila, it is also “appalled” at the discovery as it showed that “much remains to be done” to protect the country’s rich aquatic resources.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a statement that the “plunder” of Philippine marine resources “is the risk our nation runs when its borders and resources are unpatrolled and unsupervised.”
Lacierda said the Philippines “is both thrilled and appalled at the zeal being shown by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in working with the Bureau of Customs to intercept and confiscate marine contraband.”
“Thrilled because contraband is being caught. Appalled because the plunder of our marine resources shows much remains to be done to safeguard our marine biodiversity,” he said.
Lacierda said, however, that the Aquino administration is striving “to improve our capacity to effectively patrol our archipelagic waters.”
“Both the Philippine Navy and the Coast Guard are embarking on acquiring more modern vessels as we have an extensive coastline,” he said.
Lacierda added that Malacañang expects the appropriate government officials to take the necessary actions regarding seizure of the contraband goods.
“DENR Secretary [Ramon] Paje is a very proactive secretary. He will make sure that it won’t happen again,” he said.
Lacierda said the monetary value of the seized black coral and sea turtles “is tiny compared to the ecological devastation they represent: hundreds, possibly thousands, of hectares of coral reefs and all the ecological complexity they represent, either killed or seriously damaged.”
He added that the government is “particularly concerned that the origin of the contraband was the Moro Gulf and the Sulu Sea, long considered pristine areas.”
“It is our duty to safeguard these areas,” he said.
Lacierda said the Aquino administration is striving to protect the country’s marine resources the same way it has been effectively managing Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park and World Heritage Site, which is also in the Sulu Sea.
