Our board member of the Province of Palawan, our park superintendent, our DENR family, all the youth from PSU and the WEA, good morning po.

Let me start my message by saying that we celebrated World Wildlife Day yesterday, and you heard many messages and statements about humanity living together harmoniously with wildlife. Let me just tell you, and I’m sure some of you also share this idea, and make our own survival the primary purpose of our existence, that the wildest of all creatures is man. Only man has the power to alter our landscape, alter our seascape, threaten species, and make our own survival the primary purpose of our existence rather than the preservation of the environment that we actually inherited from our ancestors. So when we talk about living harmoniously with wildlife, the first person or the first creature we must think about is how wild man has been in altering the existence of everyone else on this planet. Climate change is a global problem but locally felt, caused by man. Our students from PSU, are you familiar with the word Anthropocene?

Please look up the word. This is a word that is actually characterizing our current generation. Only man, Anthropocene, has the power and had the power to change now all the natural systems that we actually are really relying on for our healthy and sustainable and not sustainable future. So, it is with fervent enthusiasm that I stand before you today as we convene to celebrate 29th Crocodile Conservation Week.

To formally begin, I’d like to acknowledge again all our partners. Thank you very much for hosting us today. As we reflect on the journey of Crocodile Week over the past 29 years, and as we actually toured the center, it struck me how, while we feel we have made big strides in crocodile conservation and research, these creatures are actually inextricably linked despite man. We have been only celebrating, well, now the 29th Crocodile Conservation Week, but they have been on this earth for millions of years. So, they survived despite what humanity has caused in their environment. However, I’d like to say that this is a testament, as we celebrate the conservation efforts here, to the establishment of a very, very important initiative. Initially the Crocodile Farming Institute, now known as the Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center or PWRCC.

In 1987, as we know, in partnership with Japan, through JICA, this was made possible. We are now able to support this center, not just through government budget, but through the entire efforts as well of the partners of the PCSD, the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development, and all the stakeholders here in Palawan. And this is one of the most significant milestones in the history of crocodile conservation for man. Not only for Palawan and the Philippines, but also for the world. First crocodile breeding farms in the Philippines were built with the Convention on International Trade in endangered species of wild flora and fauna or cypress on March 4, 1988, thus demonstrating 36 years of conservation initiatives. The PWRCC continuously implements different programs and activities in accordance with the Center’s mandate towards conserving two species of crocodiles, Crocodylus mindorensis and Crocodylus porosus found in the Philippines. I believe the Center now shelters a total of 1,000 as I heard this morning, 68 fresh and saltwater crocodiles, including those found in the different parts of the Philippines, as far as Mindanao, composed of hatchlings, juveniles, sub-adults, and adults. The Philippine crocodile, Mindorensis, holds the distinction of being the rarest crocodile species globally, facing an alarming 82% decline in known localities.

Ongoing threats facing an alarming of 82 percent decline in known localities. Ongoing threats include habitat loss and human persecution. As a critically endangered species, the conservation of Philippine crocodile is important to local communities in terms of both cultural and economic value, assess the potential to support livelihoods related to the ecological tourism that is actually present today.

In its years of operation, the PWRCC has been successful in breeding the Philippine crocodile and the saltwater crocodile as sources of stocks to replenish wild populations. The Philippine crocodile is being bred mainly for conservation purposes, for reintroduction purposes, while the latter, Porosus, is actually of some commercial value. The PWRCC is a scientist-registered facility, a source of captive bred crocodiles for commercial breeding to support the saltwater crocodile industry in the country. PWRCC also serves as the national repository of rescued crocodiles that can be used for commercial breeding and a source of breeder stocks. Additionally, PWRCC remains an ecotourism destination in Puerto Princesa, contributing to the social, economic development and well-being of local communities that are engaged in the protection and conservation of this valuable natural resource through activities such as guided tours and local crafts. For these reasons, it is very important for the DENR to continue supporting and maintaining the PWRCC. And what I will mention today is we will begin to look into an evidence-based, science-informed, programmatic approach to managing this facility and the wildlife rescue center that it also houses.

One of the goals and objectives of the facility is to remove such species from the IUCN list of critically endangered species. The current wild population estimates stand at over 500 for the Philippine crocodiles and over 6,000 for saltwater crocodiles. If we were to remove the Philippine crocodile from the threatened list, we need a population of at least 1,000 individuals.

So, we are far short on that now. A population and habitat viability assessment are needed to determine the thresholds of the two species now, considering the population that we can verify, as well as the distribution in the country. At present, our collective efforts have yielded some promising results, yet challenges persist and our commitment to safeguarding wildlife remains as crucial as ever. Hence, for this year’s theme, our continuing commitment is to shed light on the multifaceted dimensions of cultural and crocodile conservation, with an emphasis on spreading awareness and their importance in biodiversity.

Let me just share with you before I end, some quotes from a paper that I just read on why we must protect the crocodile in the Philippines. Apart from the economic and commercial and of course ecological value, we need to recognize that the Philippine crocodile is identified with our country. Jose Rizal himself has linked the crocodile to our Filipino identity. We also know that from this study, Maguindanaoans believe they descended from the crocodile. In Kalinga, it is believed that the crocodiles are the embodiment of their ancestors. The Tagbanua in Palawan also are supposedly to have made path with crocodiles for their existence. I think it is important to understand that there are many dimensions to the significance of this species, not least of which they endemic and they are threatened. And that also has spiritual as well as cultural value apart from what is the obvious commercial and ecotourism value.

In closing, I would like to thank everyone who gathered here today. The DENR may have been at the forefront of our shared responsibility to preserve the environment and all the wildlife that completes our biodiversity. But the environment belongs to everyone. It is our shared responsibility to make sure that this species that has been here for millions of years continues to be here on earth beyond our own ecosystem and despite our own efforts to change their environment.

Thank you very much and good morning.