UPANG palakasin ang dalawang dekadang Wildlife Act para matugunan ang dumarami at makabagong wildlife crimes, isinusulong ni Senator Cynthia A. Villar ang Revised Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection.

Inisponsor ni Villar, chairperson ng Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee, ang Senate Bill No. 2465 o ang “An Act Strengthening the Wildlife Conservation and Protection

Mechanism in the Philippines, Amending for this Purpose Republic Act No. 9147, Otherwise Known as the ‘Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act.”

“Strengthening wildlife protection is crucial to the Philippines, which is considered as one of the world’s 17 megadiverse or biodiversity-rich countries, which collectively hosts two-thirds of the Earth’s biodiversity and contain about 70 to 80 percent of the world’s plant and animal species,” giit ni Villar.

Aniya, ang Pilipinas ay isa sa may pinaka-kakaibang wildlife species sa buong mundo.

“Yet, it is also a biodiversity hotspot with high levels of threats from habitat loss, invasive alien species (IAS), climate change, pollution, and overexploitation,” sabi pa ng senador.

“Thus, this calls for us to take action on the protection of our wildlife because any damage or loss will cost too much for us,” dagdag pa niya.

Kilalang environment advocate, sinabi ng senador na kailangang magkaroon ng mas mahigpit na legal framework, pagandahin ang enforcement mechanisms at palakasin ang inter-agency cooperation laban sa illegal wildlife trade.

“We need to give more “teeth” so to speak to existing policies and laws to help enforcement authorities also to apprehend violators. And that’s what Senate Bill 2465 seeks to provide — to fortify the mechanisms in place to afford better protection to our wildlife resources,” binigyan diin ni Villar.

Ayon kay Villar, may evolution ng wildlife crimes dahil sa globalisation. Sinabi rin niya na sanhi ng open borders at mas maayos na transport infrastructure, nagkakaroon ng access ang illegal wildlife trade syndicates sa mga dating malalayong lugar samantalang ang internet ang nagbibigay sa kanila ng access sa bagong merkado.

Inihayag ni Villar na kailangan ang Revised Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection bill dahil magbibigay ito ng mahahalagang pagbabago sa RA 9147. Kabilang rito ang mga sumusunod:

• Matutugunan nito ang “wildlife trafficking” sa pagbibigay ng definition at parusa upang mahinto ang wildlife syndicates;

• Nakapaloob dito ang control at management mechanism sa invasive alien species na banta sa survival ng ating local plants at animals;

• Nagbibigay din ito ng guidelines collection, possession at transport ng wildlife, by-products at derivatives nito;

• Kinikilala ang jurisdiction ng Palawan Council for sustainable Development (PCSD) at ang Bangsamoro Government (BMG) sa wildlife species sa kanilang teritoryo.

• Binibigyan ang DENR, DA, PCSD (Palawan Council for Sustainable Development), at ang Bangsamoro Government ng kapangyarihan sa administrative adjudication sa mga kaso ng paglabag na magiging dahilan ng confiscation, forfeiture at final disposition ong wildlife, by-products at derivatives nito;

• Dadagdagan nito ang parusa (imprisonment and/or fines) sa illegal acts upang mahinto wildlife crimes at

• Magbigigay ito ng probisyon sa applicability ng disputable presumption na nagkaroon ng wildlife offenses.

“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. Let us make sure that the future generations will still actually encounter and co-exist with an abundance of plants and animals, and not just see them in old pictures,” sabi pa ng senador. (ESTONG REYES)