Dad and Mom, I recently heard about the news, which I believe you are aware of. Rare black corals, hawk bills, and green sea turtles—two container vans full of them—were seized in Manila. Tons more were seized in Zamboanga that correspond to as much as 95,000 hectares of reef destroyed, much larger than Metro Manila.
We all know those are just the tip of a gargantuan iceberg. We all know that poverty enslaves our countrymen to ruthless foreign investors who ignore the detrimental repercussions of their wrongdoing. They clearly don’t love the Philippines and the Filipino people, nor do they respect God’s gift.
But I believe you both have the capacity to do something about it.
Dad, I believe you can influence your superiors at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to sustainably protect our waters and be actively involved in policy making. I know everyone, including you, are doing your best in saving our natural resources, but what recently happened is a rather strong wake up call to everyone in your department. Hand in hand with local government units, I believe you can further protect marine life from diminishing.
Mom, you have a crucial job. Being involved in the national campaign of the Department of Science and Technology for coral transplantation, you can start healing what these evil poachers have left behind. If only we, the youth, can be involved in your project, we would. Coral by coral, we can rebuild our destroyed coral reefs and bring marine life back to its full richness.
I still believe in the potential and the goodness of our government—we still have fine government employees like you. But you see, this is not only a matter of national interest. This will also affect your grandchildren, your great-grandchildren, and many more generations after them. It would be nice if they could see how diverse our waters are, and it would be nice for them to see the pawikan and the butanding.
If we save our seas now, we may not see results just yet, but they could.
Love,
June 8 is Blog Action Day to save Philippine seas. Tweet, blog, spread the word. Know more by clicking here.