The prostitution of the reefs and precious sea creatures

I am deeply moved by the article of Babe Romualdez entitled “The rape of our seas.” To be more precise, I would like to call it prostitution of the reefs and precious sea creatures.

I agree that this plunder of the seas and illegal trade have been going on for a long period of time in the different islands of the country and these activities happen right under the nose of officials with the connivance of some locals and aliens, from Batanes to Jolo, prostituting our natural resources without conscience and mercy, but only with rapacious greed.

How do we save our priceless treasures of the sea and how do we involve the citizenry. I firmly believe that empowerment through education is the antithesis to ignorance and cold indifference.

Anyone who has seen the immense beauty of the Philippine deep will be in awe for the rest of his life and leave a sense of pride, patriotism and nationalism. But not everyone has the opportunity of visiting these places in various locations. A subject in the school curriculum in the elementary level and with enforcement in the secondary level will be a formidable weapon to fight the plunder and rape of the seas. By inculcating in the minds and hearts of the students the importance of safeguarding our natural treasures, this will arouse awareness in the youth and citizenry that will lead to the protection, preservation and conservation of the marine resources.

We have to act with swift determination and resolve with the help of the various government agencies to save what is dismally left from the spoils of the plunder of the seas.

As a Filipino, my heart bleeds out for the continuous degradation of the seas, of the hundreds of sea turtles that are poached in Batanes and its carapaces removed and left to rot in one of the islands, to the illegal trade of the coral reefs in Mindanao.

When do we act but now, before it is too late and nothing is left of the Philippine pride.