In the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG), amid the contested waters of the West Philippine Sea, a small team of Philippine Marines and sailors undertakes a dual mission. Beyond their primary duty of defending national sovereignty, these soldiers also dedicate their time to an equally critical but often overlooked task—clearing plastic waste that threatens the area’s fragile marine ecosystems.
The initiative, led by Marine Battalion Landing Team-9 (MBLT-9, also known as the Red Lions) under the command of Major Rommel Geli and operating under the 3rd Marine Brigade headed by Brigadier General Antonio Mangoroban Jr., highlights the military’s role as environmental stewards in an ecologically sensitive and geopolitically tense region.
A tide of trash
The KIG, a cluster of islets and reefs renowned for its marine biodiversity and strategic importance, faces an unrelenting influx of trash, much of it originating from foreign sources.
Marine debris, particularly plastic bottles and product wrappers, regularly washes ashore, underscoring the region’s vulnerability as ocean currents carry trash from neighboring countries like China, Vietnam, and Thailand.
“It’s mostly durable plastics that survive the journey across the sea,” an MBLT-9 officer explained, describing the challenge. The tide’s persistence makes the problem especially daunting in the absence of waste disposal facilities on the islands.
On average, the team collects about 30 sacks of trash each month, though the work is weather-dependent and often grueling. From the larger Pag-asa Island to the smallest islets, no area is spared from the scourge of plastic pollution.
Protecting vulnerable marine life
The collected trash represents more than just an aesthetic or logistical problem—it’s a dire ecological threat. The waters around the Kalayaan islands are home to critical habitats for marine species, particularly sea turtles, which are highly susceptible to plastic pollution.
Floating plastics, often mistaken for jellyfish—the primary food source for sea turtles—pose potentially fatal risks.
“Our priority is ensuring the safety of sea turtles,” the officer said. Soldiers even guard nesting sites when they are discovered, ensuring hatchlings make it safely to the sea.
Ghost nets, or abandoned fishing nets, are another frequent and deadly find during cleanups. These nets entangle sea turtles and other marine species, causing injuries or death. Removing them has become a key part of the team’s environmental efforts.
Closing the loop on waste
Without proper disposal facilities on the islands, the collected trash is bagged and transported to Puerto Princesa City via Philippine Coast Guard or Navy vessels during resupply missions.
From there, the waste is handed over to junk shops for recycling or disposal. However, the officer acknowledged the system’s limitations.
“It’s frustrating. The trash leaves the islands but still ends up here on the mainland. It’s a cycle we’re trying to break,” he said.
To mitigate the issue, the battalion collaborates with organizations like Urban Konek, which has taught them how to manage the waste collected from the Kalayaan Islands. The MBLT-9 also coordinates with Coca-Cola to explore selling used plastic bottles for recycling.
Franc Earl Fabellar, the information officer of the Kalayaan municipal government, explained that the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) has a system for managing waste collected on the islands.
“For glass bottles, we crush them using a glass crusher located in Pag-asa, and the crushed glass is mixed with cement for construction. However, for plastic waste, which requires proper disposal, MENRO collects and stores it until it can be transported to mainland Palawan on our boat during scheduled trips,” Fabellar said.
Their disposal in mainland Palawan is coordinated with dumpsites with which MENRO has arranged partnerships for Kalayaan.
On Pag-asa Island, home to most residents and soldiers in the area, cleanups have evolved into a community-wide effort.
The MBLT-9 hopes this will spark broader awareness and action from neighboring countries and stakeholders.
“We all share the responsibility of protecting this region,” the battalion officer emphasized.
“The trash doesn’t just harm the islands; it damages the marine ecosystem we all depend on,” he added.
State of the coasts
The 2024 e-book report titled The West Philippine Sea: State of the Coasts, published by the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD), noted that baseline studies on plastic accumulation in the WPS began only in 2021, revealing widespread plastics across all surveyed sites.
Pag-asa Island is particularly prone to environmental stresses, including plastic pollution. Trash on Pag-asa and Parola Islands primarily consists of plastic litter, with product labels from Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and China. This demonstrates that marine debris is carried by ocean currents, underscoring plastic pollution as a transboundary issue.
“At the larger scale, the WPS is also influenced by the currents that govern the South China Sea, resulting in the transport of plastics from one place to another, or more aptly, from one EEZ of a country to another. This makes plastic pollution a transboundary issue and a regional concern,” the report stated.
“The plastics that end up in the marine environment may negatively impact, both directly and indirectly, the different levels of the trophic system, from cell to organism to the community, and even the entire local ecosystem, ultimately affecting the ability of organisms and the ecosystems they are a part of to provide ecological services. This translates to loss of economic benefits and resources for many people across the region who rely on the marine environment,” it added.
The plastic waste, undergoing natural breakdown, fragments into microplastics that persist in the environment for hundreds of years. These microplastics infiltrate marine food webs, transfer harmful chemicals, and pose long-term ecological and health risks.
“The risks associated with microplastics is a whole different ballgame. Unlike macroplastics, which mostly affect larger organisms, the ubiquity and small size of microplastics increase the chances that they are mistaken as food even by smaller organisms. When these organisms are consumed by larger predators, the ingested microplastics can get transferred up the food chain to apex predators, including humans,” the report noted, citing studies by Desforges et al. (2015) and Nelms et al. (2018).
The report emphasizes the necessity for collaborative regional action to tackle marine plastic pollution, recognizing it as a transboundary issue. It advocates for the establishment of comprehensive waste management systems, the promotion of sustainable consumption and production practices, and the enhancement of public awareness and education regarding plastic pollution.
In addition, it underscores the importance of conducting further research to understand the sources, pathways, and impacts of plastic debris in marine environments.
It also calls for the development and enforcement of policies and regulations aimed at reducing plastic waste generation and improving waste management infrastructure.
The report underlines the critical role of international cooperation among countries bordering the West Philippine Sea to effectively address the pervasive issue of marine plastic pollution.
