Our culture, our languages, our species

I have learned about our endangered languages in my field, and the grave importance of saving and preserving them should not be any less than that of our endangered species. The problem however, is that even though there have been a lot of major pursuits to save these species, especially our marine species, the overall picture remains bleak and grim. Witnessing the exotic and preserved beauty of the coral reefs at Lian, Batangas, I began to contemplate about their national condition and if this shall be the only place I will be able to see such magnificence again.

The Philippines, as the center of marine biodiversity is part of a larger system called the Coral Triangle, where in the Philippines alone 76% of all known corals are found. If this is so, it should be truly alarming that as of 2012, according to the Department of Energy and Natural Resources (DENR) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), only 5% of the country's coral reefs remain in perfect condition; only 1% remain pristine. That's about 1000km2 left for us to get a glimpse of real, untouched coral reefs, all that was left of the 27 000km2 coral area in the Philippines. 75% of the area is already hopeless because of overfishing, coral bleaching, coastal erosion and illegal, unregulated and unreported extraction of marine wealth, according to DENR.

The issue here is not merely about nice-looking coral reefs that need to be preserved; it's also and largely about 96 million Filipinos near the coasts struggling to make a living; P1.1B at risk of being lost every year as such Filipino trademarks feed our economic stability through tourism and employment; the 500 coral species only found in the Philippines out of the 800 species at risk of being washed out of the oceans forever.

Of course, these are all just numbers, but we would not want to feel and experience the food shortage, the economic downfall, and the guilt until it's too late. May we help, in any way that we can, to preserve what is uniquely ours--our culture, our languages, our species.

Finding Nemo's lair at Lian, Batangas!

 

It may not be a gift in a box, but it was by far the best gift ever.

My parents know very well how much I and my twin sister Jillian love to travel  and how much we hate parties, and so they decided we go out of town instead as a celebration for our 18th birthday. Along with our good  and long-time friend Brine, we all went to Lian, Batangas last APril 15-16.

We first stopped at Tagaytay to have lunch. We ate at an open eatery overlooking the Taal Volcano and tried their famous bulalo and special dilis. By noon we arrived at Lian and we kids immediately popped our shoes off, dashed to the beach, enjoyed the warm sand while Jill looked out for small crabs, built (miniature) sand castles and admired the big ocean waves.

The day was long and truly peaceful that made me feel alive in a new and different way. The clear blue ocean untouched by human civilization, the strong, cool wind and the sand that slowly turned cold and comforting to the feet all made me shed all the stress and boredom of the city away. It was fun enough that we--Jill, Brine and I spent the rest of the day talking and chatting about a wide range of topics--from Brine's fun moments back at UP Los Baños, movies, current issues, strategies in the Games of the General to constellations.

We also went boating that afternoon and I was amazed at the strong ocean waves that seemed to be Poseidon breathing heavily. We explored the ocean more the next day at around 6am when the ocean was calmer. We were able to go as far as the next island with pure white sand along the shores, to a mountainous rock with a unique carving where the waters were shallow enough for us to catch a good glimpse of the coral reefs below. It was a breath-taking sight and a truly life-changing experience as we spotted small colorful fishes and small and big corals with different shapes. We also saw small flying fishes along the way. The kuya who toured us said it was a good thing that no one dares to destroy the corals and sell it because it is prohibited in the place. He also mentioned that pawikans lurk near the shores every December.

Witnessing the beautiful coral reefs and how they are preserved in Lian made me reflect about the national condition of these Philippine gems as of today. May we all help in any way possible to preserve our coral reefs, not only for the sake of its cultural and environmental importance, but also for a number of factors they are intricately and critically webbed into.