EDITORIAL - The illegal meat business in Pasil

The selling of meat of endangered species has been going on for decades in Barangay Pasil, Cebu City. Despite the law prohibiting such activity, meat of sea turtles and other vanishing animals continues to attract customers in the area.

But on Tuesday morning, agents of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and personnel of Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Prevention Restoration Orderly Beautification and Enhancement (Probe) swooped down on an eatery and arrested five workers for allegedly selling sea turtle meat.

The arrest came after at least two months of surveillance by the authorities. Lawyer Habeas Corpuz, agent on case from the NBI headquarters in Manila, said they received reports about the alleged illegal wildlife trade in the barangay.

“We conducted verification with our asset and eventually it yielded into a positive result. We identify that these individuals are engaged in selling sea turtle meat and other by-products and derivatives of this wildlife,” he said.

We do hope the operation will not be the last against the selling of meat of endangered species in Cebu, especially at the Pasil Fish Market. We need more raids if we really are serious in putting a stop to such illegal trade, which has been going on for decades.

The reason why many continue to patronize the meat of vanishing marine species in Pasil is because local authorities have been turning a blind eye to it for years. For as long as there is a steady supply, eateries will continue with their business.

The raid on the eatery serving sea turtle meat should serve as warning to those who continue with the illegal trade in Pasil and other areas in Cebu. That they have to stop their illegal business otherwise the long arm of the law will eventually catch them.

The government must intensify the campaign. Stopping this illegal practice should not only revolve around raiding those makeshift eateries. Authorities should rather religiously concentrate on going after the source of the supply.