Sen. Cynthia A. Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, is encouraging everyone to protect the country’s wildlife, noting that citizens will be adversely affected by its damage or loss.
“We owe it to the future generation to conserve and protect our wildlife resources. It is part of our duty to leave this world better than we found it,” Villar said, during the celebration of World Wildlife Day 2023 in the Philippines led by Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Toni Loyzaga.
“Let us not act harshly in ways that will threaten the delicate balance that sustains all life on earth. Let us make sure that the future generations will still encounter and co-exist with an abundance of plants and animals, and not just see them in old pictures,” she further said.
Villar said every March 3, World Wildlife Day is celebrated and to raise awareness on the country’s amazing biodiversity. The country has a wide variety of wildlife and plants, and thi biodiversity contributes to people’s lives and the earth.
The senator noted that March 3 also commemorates the birth of CITES or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, signed in 1973.
“This year is a milestone for it is the 50th anniversary of the Convention. And the theme “Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation” was chosen in recognition of the collaborative work and partnerships done for sustainability, wildlife and biodiversity conservation.”
As an advocate for wildlife conservation, she also cited the protection of a Ramsar site and a legislated protected area (PA) in her home city, the Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park (LPPWP).
LPPWP is a habitat and sanctuary of wild migratory and endemic birds.
She said when she was first designated as chairperson of the Senate Committee on Environment in the 17th Congress, she strongly pushed for the passage of RA No. 11038 (ENIPAS Act of 2018) which strengthened the legal framework for the establishment, management and maintenance of all PAs.
The Expanded NIPAS Act of 2018 facilitated the legislation of 94 protected areas (PAs) and 13 PAs individually legislated under the original NIPAS law.
Under the 18th Congress, seven more PAs were legislated under her watch- to a total of 114 legislated protected areas measuring 4.4 M hectares.
She expects to sponsor at the plenary the committee report on the Revised Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection bill before Congress adjourns sine die this coming June.
“The revision of the law is needed because the violative act and other atrocities being committed against wildlife and their habitats today are made up of acts that were not contemplated 22 years ago,” she said.
“ The incidence of wildlife crimes has evolved and grown, the violators have become more equipped, made use of modern technology and social media, and they act in syndicates,” she further stated.
She hopes to get the support of all her fellow senator.
