Environment office told: Probe before accepting apology

Thursday, February 2, 2012

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Davao should have conducted a thorough investigation before accepting the public apology on the case of foreigners who were seen dumping some inedible parts of a green sea turtle inside the Sta. Ana pier last week.

Thus, said Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) National Director Asis Perez, adding it is so easy to claim that the foreigners, including the MV Hannah II vessel owner Hannah Parks, its crew and those other Asian missionaries onboard the ship, got the sea turtle in foreign land.

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Perez said the foreigners should have sought permits when they brought into the country an endangered animal.

"Hindi nila basta-bastang pweding ipasok 'yan sa Pilipinas kung walang permit from authorities (They cannot just bring the turtle into the country without securing first permits from the concerned authorities)," Perez said.

Perez cited Section 97 of Republic Act 8550, otherwise known as the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998, which states that fishing and or taking of rare, threatened, or endangered species stated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) of Wild Fauna and Flora is unlawful.

Cites is a multilateral environmental agreement between 193 United Nation (UN) member countries in which Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, as well as the Philippines are signatories.

Green sea turtle has been listed in the Cites as endangered species. Catching and killing these turtles is prohibited and may only be allowed in strict and rare occasions.

Emmanuel Isip, regional technical director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), said the case has not been closed nor he ordered it to be closed.

Isip said matters concerning sea turtles in particular are no longer part of BFAR’s jurisdiction.

"Honestly to God, wala kasi kaming nakita na evidence of guilt (We really did not find evidence of guilt)," Isip said.

Isip added it is very hard to prove in any court that the foreigners have committed any violation.

"Pinapalaki lang natin 'yan, nakita mo naman siguro sa public apology nila na wala silang intensyun na gawin 'yun (We are just sensationalizing it, I know you saw them during their public apology and you can see based on their explanation that it was not intentional)," Isip added.

It can be recalled that Parks made the public apology after some environmental groups, as well as the City Agriculture Office (CAO), reacted to the killing of the turtle.

Parks said they were not the ones who caught and killed the turtle. They also did not buy it.

"Those parts of the turtle were leftovers of what was butchered in Palau. We did not even know there were leftovers. We are here on a humanitarian mission and never meant to harm anything. We are here in good will, I hope you understand why we ate the sea turtle. It was not our intention, from now on, we will not eat turtle again," Parks told reporters on Tuesday.

It was learned that while the missionaries were in Palau, no less than Palau President and the First Lady along with 80 Palauns travelled for five days with them to other islands which they could have not served and reached without M/V Hannah II.

During the trip, various construction materials and water tanks were delivered to the islands. Out of hospitality, people of Palau butchered sea turtle, cooked it and serve it to their visitors.

Parks told Sun.Star Davao that the sea turtle was given to them sometime in October.