Concerned individuals recently turned over a Philippine long-tailed macaque and a Palawan pangolin to the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff (PCSDS).
The PCSDS said in a statement that the Philippine long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis Philippensis) was turned over on March 5 by Darwin Fabon, a crew of M/V Christine, to Deo Fajardo in their Wildlife Traffic Monitoring Unit (WTMU) in Linapacan.
Fabon handed over the monkey, an “endangered species” under PCSD Resolution No. 15-521, while Fajardo was inspecting marine products bound for Manila on the said day.
He told Fajardo that the wildlife was given to him by a resident of Barangay Panlaitan, Busuanga, while they were unloading cargoes in the area.
“He immediately turned over the wildlife species to Mr. Fajardo upon knowing that possessing such wildlife species is illegal under RA 9147, also known as the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act,” the PCSDS statement said.
The Palawan pangolin (Manis culionensis) was turned over by Lim Bryan Kutat of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) on March 10.
Both the Philippine long-tailed macaque and the Palawan pangolin are in good shape and were released back to their natural habitat following a thorough observation and health check on March 7 and March 10, respectively.
The Philippine long-tailed macaque was in good shape and weighs approximately 750 grams.
The Palawan pangolin weighs 1.7 kilograms and measures 86.36 centimeters in length. It is listed as a “critically endangered species” under PCSD Resolution No. 15-521.
