On its 35th anniversary, the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) launched Pugad Pawikan, an environmental advocacy campaign to protect and conserve the endangered sea turtle or pawikan.
KBP has tied up with Corporate Image Dimensions (CID), a corporate communication company, and other multi-sectoral organizations to establish the Philippines as the “Pugad Pawikan” or sea turtle haven of the world, with special emphasis on protecting the turtle from poaching and other threats to its habitat.
Pugad Pawikan comprises a community of volunteers and concerned citizens, a pool of spokespersons and champions, and a network of organizations from the government, non-government, and the private sector focused on generating mass awareness and multi-sectoral involvement on sea turtle protection.
CID chairman Louie J. Morales said Pugad Pawikan has released over 5,000 sea turtle hatchlings in Isla Arena in Narra, Palawan, one of the pilot areas chosen for the conservation cause. The organization has likewise donated around 500 sea turtle hatchlings to Guimaras Island, in response to reports that the pawikan was among the sea creatures affected by the bunker oil spill that devastated the island in 2006.
KBP president Maloli Espinosa said their organization is the perfect medium for the program, as it can reach a wide range of audiences all over the country.
“As responsible media practitioners, we are very much aware how the media can serve as a powerful tool in advancing such cause for our environment. Part of our duties is to effectively communicate important and relevant messages that we know should be shared with and understood by the public whether through the radio or television,” said Espinosa.
Sen. Pia Cayetano, chairperson of the Senate committee on environment and natural resources, said she is proud to be a part of the campaign. “I’ll even swim with the pawikan,” she quipped.
For Cayetano, the pawikan symbolizes the state of the environment and health in the country, as they are intertwined. “You remove the pawikan, and the whole ecosystem is destroyed,” she emphasized.