Turtle rescued in Sabah ends up at Cebu eatery
Published on: Saturday, December 15, 2018
Kota Kinabalu: An adult green sea turtle earlier rescued and tagged for conservation in Sabah was butchered for its meat in Cebu City, Philippine.Agents of the Central Visayas regional offices of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said the marine creature (pawikan) with a tag coming from Sandakan was among some 60kg of meat confiscated from an eatery in Cebu City on Tuesday."One of the pawikan was already rescued and rehabilitated in Sabah. The tag came from Sandakan. This species is migratory so when it came to Cebu, it was captured and killed," said DENR senior ecosystem management officer Rogelio Demelletes Jr.
ADVERTISEMENT
During the surprise operation, the government team arrested five people - eatery cashier Donesa Bustamante, cook Cresley Obatay and helpers Ariesteo Pableo, Julio Abunta and Clifford Obatay.They refused to issue any statement to reporters or divulge to authorities their source of the endangered turtle meat.Demelletes said Cebu City, particularly Barangay Pasil, had been a known site for illegal trade of wildlife meat."It is common knowledge here that turtle meat is sold in Pasil. It is called 'power.' Even if you look at Google Earth, they have a map that points to Pasil with the [word] 'power' on it," he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Turtle meat prepared as the local dish "larang" can be bought at roadside eateries in Pasil by using the code "power," a reference to the local belief that eating this exotic dish will improve sexual prowess."Power" is sold at the eatery for P90 (RM7.50) per serving, more expensive than the regular larang prepared from fish, which costs P75 (RM6) per serving.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Those who buy or eat pawikan meat may also be held liable because 'nobody will sell if there is no [buyer]'," he said.According to NBI lawyer Habeas Corpuz assigned with the environmental crime division, his group received an intelligence report about rampant illegal wildlife trade in Pasil.DENR and NBI agents conducted a "test buy" of raw pawikan meat over a month ago to verify reports that sea turtles were being used in dishes offered in the area."Normally, they do not sell raw meat. Luckily, our men were able to buy raw meat. We used that to subject the sample to a DNA sequencing test," Corpuz said.The test, conducted by researchers at the University of the Philippines Diliman, reported that the DNA of the sample meat bought in Pasil matched by "99.83 to 100 per cent" with the DNA sequence of green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas).He said the marine creature meat that the team seized from the eatery was stored in a cooler. The body parts showed that the meat came from five to six juveniles and an adult green sea turtle."We want to identify where the supply is coming from because we want to cut this business from [the source]," Corpuz said.Charges of multiple counts of possessing, trading and killing endangered species were filed against the suspects on Tuesday. These offences are bailable.Under the Republic Act No. 9147 (Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act), trading of endangered animals or their by-products is punishable with imprisonment of at least six months to one year with accessory penalty of P10,000 to P100,000. (RMRM793 -RM7,937).For the slaughter of pawikan, a violator may be imprisoned for six to 12 years and fined between P100,000 (7,937) and P1 million (RM79,037).Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
