The description that the volume of black sea fan corals seized at a Cebu City port area is “larger than Metro Cebu”—the area being more than 1,000 kilometers in size—may be magnified, but there’s no denying the damage caused by this theft of coral reefs.
That description was given by Deputy Customs Commissioner Horacio Suansing, who visited and inspected the seized corals in a 20-foot container van in Pier 6 of the Cebu Port.
The Cebu catch along with the larger Luzon confiscation of corals was supposed to be the subject of a congressional inquiry headed by Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri.
A long-winded Senate investigation will try to draw up laws that will end the theft and sale of these rare corals. The hearings won’t stop the crime anytime soon though.
Somewhere out there enterprising parties are harvesting these delicate wonders of nature from reefs in the Visayas, including Cebu.
Earlier this year, at least three seizures of coral, already packed in boxes ready for export or spread out to dry under the sun, took place in the the tourism paradise that is Lapu-Lapu City right under the nose of its Mayor Paz Radaza.
The mayor, who was embarrassed by her late notice and the presence of Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia in one of the raids, is trying to catch up by declaring war on marine thieves and designating teams to arrest poachers.
The demand for the sea treasures from Cebu and other parts of the country is global, which makes it harder to stem.
Ramir Bonghanoy, president of the Cebu Gifts, Toys and Housewares Foundation Inc., said these beautiful corals command high prices as aquarium and fashion accessories in the international market.
One such market is China and its territory Hong Kong, which held a fashion show that featured corals as fashion accessories.
So what happens to the seized corals in Cebu?
Unless claimed by the shippers—an unlikely thing for a law violator to do—they may end up specimens for students to study in their schools and museums.
But the damage has been done.
It takes decades or, according to one expert, two entire generations, for corals to regrow to their original, pre-looted state.
The wealth of marine resources for an archipelago like the Philippines, which relies on fishing for its coastal communities’ livelihood and tourism for its national pride and economic gain, is a treasure that belongs to all Filipinos.
The war is not for ecology groups or local government alone to wage.