Save the sea turtles, save Manila Bay

Just this month, a gigantic turtle was found dead on the seashores of Southern Leyte in Central Philippines. I saw the picture at Facebook and noticed how huge it literally was--and it really caught my attention. The size was 3/4 of a typical Filipino adult and from the looks of it, it seemed to weigh tons of pounds. 

What also took my curiosity was the unique shape of its shell--and the color was blackish-gray, filled with white spots all over its body. According to the local news, it was discovered with a rope tied on one of its arm, as it floats on the animated waters. 

The image of this turtle lingered in my head, so I researched about it and found some answers. The victim was known to be called a leatherback turtle--the biggest, deepest-diving among all species, which abode the sea for almost 100 million years. Come to think of it--such a beautiful creature like this chose to swim into the Philippines. 

Another poor sea turtle was witnessed struggling in the shores of an even worse place--the Manila Bay. This area, located in the dirtiest district of the Philippines, is known for squatters, street children, and billions of garbage piled up in almost all corners of the urban. The creature was taken to a safe place but after two days it died. Professional biologists dissected the stomach of the lifeless amphibian and unexpectedly, they found a hundred eggs inside. If the mother survived, it could have released several more sea turtles in the future. The scientists concluded that it died because of failure to lay eggs in the shore. But because of the endless chunks of rubbish littered in the sea, it's just impossible for it to live.

But why, you may ask, would a sea turtle choose to settle in a spoiled place like Manila Bay? A documentary show I saw on TV explained that several of these unique species travel around the world for decades of years. It starts to swim across the shore from the place they were born, down to the biggest seas around the world, and then after more than 70 years of exploring the ocean, it comes back to where they live to lay their eggs. In the Northern Philippines, sea turtles usually hatch their eggs in Bataan, Ilocos Sur and sadly, the Manila Bay.  So now you can imagine how this tortured bay was actually a living paradise for more than a thousand years ago--only to be abused by reckless, stupid locals in just a few hundred years.

Manila Bay in tourist pictures...

...and the reality behind

I'm not gonna be surprised why mother nature punishes the citizens through flooding, landslides and drowning. This is obviously because of the people's irresponsibility in distributing rubbish from their surroundings. The Philippines, being a 3rd-world country, suffers an annual flooding attack because the drainage systems are clogged and surroundings are just..piled up with filth. Even the mayors of the troubled barangays wouldn't even bother to make a stand and take a huge step in changing the depressed, chaotic city into a community of life. 

I think the best way to change the mindset of apathetic Filipinos is to evolve practical education in every school. Let there be subjects that talk about proper garbage disposal, maintaining a clean environment, recycling, basic etiquette, and morality. These topics in fact, are ignored by the Department of Education! The subjects that I remember when I was a student was the typical Math, Science, English, Philippine History (don't get me wrong, they're all important) but little attention to practical living. It's a shame because most developed countries worldwide even focus more on saving the planet.

I just hope that through this yearly struggle, this constant distress would eventually wake up the entire nation. 

*This article I wrote even gave me more interest and deep love for sea turtles..