Isabela gov: No orders from local govt to kill endangered crocs

Isabela Governor Faustino Dy III clarified on Thursday that he did not issue any orders to kill endangered Philippine crocodiles, following reports that the reptiles escaped from their sanctuary due to flooding brought by super typhoon “Juan." Dy said the supposed order was only a misinterpretation of a remark said in jest by Vice Governor Rodolfo Albano III that residents in Divilacan town, where the sanctuary is located, can kill the crocodiles for meat and for their skin. “Biro lang naman ‘yun. Siyempre, malungkot na ang mga tao rito dahil nga sa bagyo, kaya nagbiro lang si Vice Governor," he told GMANews.TV in a phone interview on Thursday. (That was just a joke. People here were feeling low due to the typhoon, so the Vice Governor merely made a joke.) Dy added that he would never issue such an order, saying he is aware that Philippine crocodiles are classified as endangered species.
The Isabela governor said a local environmental group, Mabuwaya Foundation, and Dutch environmentalists are currently conducting an inventory of the crocodiles in Dicatian Lake to determine if some of the reptiles inadvertently broke free from the confines of the sanctuary during the typhoon. “Palagay ko wala rin talaga nakawala doon, kasi hindi naman masyadong bumaha sa part na iyon ng probinsya," he said. (I think not one croc escaped from there, because that part of the province did not experience much flooding.) In July last year, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) released 50 Philippine crocodiles (Crocodylus mindorensis) into the Dicatian Lake. The animals came from a captive breeding center maintained by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Palawan. The IUCN has classified the reptile, found only in northern Luzon and southwest Mindanao, as “one of the most severely threatened species in the world" since 1982. According to the organization, only 100 mature Philippine crocodiles live in the wilds as of last year. The Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources meanwhile said more than 400 of these reptiles are being bred in captivity in Palawan. Dy also said initial reports of a man getting bitten by a crocodile in Isabela at the height of the storm remain unverified. “Nagdududa rin kami na nakagat nga iyon. Kasi kung nakagat siya, dapat dinala ‘yun sa ospital dahil malalim ang sugat. Pero sabi sa amin, nagamot na raw sa bahay nila," he said. (We doubt if he was really bitten, since if he was indeed bitten, he should have been brought to the hospital because of the deep wound. But we were told he was already treated at home.)—JV/YA, GMANews.TV