Citing the potential destruction of the large-scale habitat of Panaon Island in Southern Leyte, Senator Cynthia A. Villar wants to declare it a protected area.

“Despite the presence of extensive coral reefs and vibrant fish communities, the abundance and biomass of commercially important species show signs of overfishing,” noted Villar.

Due to this, Villar filed Senate Bill No. 1690 to be known as

“Panaon Island Protected Seascape Act of 2023”.

Villar said that based on the records and suitability assessments by the DENR-Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB), there are still numerous sites in the country that should be declared ‘protected area’ and one of them is the Panaon Island Seascape.

The Panaon Island Seascape , which is in the southern tip of Southern Leyte, is under the jurisdiction of four municipalities- Liloan, San Francisco, Pintuyan and San Ricardo.

Villar, chairperson of the Senate committee on environment and natural resources noted that Panaon Island is known to have good to excellent coral reefs.

“With 41% of the coral reefs surveyed (11 of 27), it is estimated to have greater than 50% hard coral cover – a rarity in the country nowadays.

“Reef-associated fish communities at the different reef areas around Panaon Island were found to have moderate richness and very high abundance,” Villar said.

“Endemic wildlife such as Philippine ducks or Anas luzonica and the endangered whale shark or Rhincodon typus species are frequently sighted around the island,” she added.

She also stressed that Panaon Island is identified as part of the 50 priority reefs in the world that will highly likely withstand the devastating impacts of climate change. Hence, the urgent need for protection and conservation.

As of January 2023, there are already 114 protected areas in the Philippines that have been declared through legislation.

Source: http://www.senate.gov.ph