Villar: Sicogon Island Wildlife Sanctuary to make tourism vibrant

IT is a “good step” to protect the environment a protected area in Carles, Iloilo, while it is undergoing massive development to boost its tourism industry, a senator said.

“The presence of the Sicogon Island Wildlife Sanctuary, I believe, complements well the tourism potentials in the area,” said Sen. Cynthia A. Villar, the guest speaker during the launching of the Sicogon Island Wildlife Sanctuary and turn-over/ribbon cutting ceremony for the Livelihood Center Extension in Barotac Viejo,iloilo.

“Your wildlife sanctuary is home to 318 species of plants and 32 species of which is endemic to Panay, including the ‘batwan’ that is a prized culinary ingredient; seven species of amphibians; 15 species of reptiles, including a new species of a dwarf gecko; and 63 species of mammals of which 12 are endemic to the Philippines,” villar said.

She noted that the threatened species in the area include the grass owl, the pied fantail, the Philippine monkey, the common island flying monkey and the critically endangered Visayas warty pig.

Saying that the Philippines is rich in biodiversity, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, cited the need to protect the country’s biodiversity.

She said we can also extoll our biodiversity to spur tourism growth.

According to Villar, the Sicogon Island Wildlife Sanctuary in Carles, Iloilo, is a legislated protected area under the Expanded National Protected Area Systems (E-nipas) Act, or Republic Act 11933, in August 2022.

According to the senator, she and Iloilo Rep. Raul Tupas fought for the bill to make Sicogon Island a protected area.

To date, there are 114 legislated protected areas under the E-nipas Act in the country.

“There is a need to pass into law recognition of our protected areas to give them proper care in order to preserve them and to avoid destruction. In return, its ecological benefits will still be enjoyed by the next generation,” she explained.

The law, she said, provides for the legal framework and the administration of the protected area to maintain essential ecological processes and life-support systems, to preserve genetic diversity, to ensure sustainable use of resources found therein, and to maintain their natural conditions to the greatest extent possible.

Meanwhile, she lauded the Livelihood Center Extension as a good project because it benefits the Aeta Community in the area.

This will serve as “reception area” where the Aetas can sell their products to tourists going to the place to visit Nagpana Falls.