The continued inaction of government authorities on the commercial display of the Tarsiers again caught public attention as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is urged to review wildlife registration certificates issued to tourism establishments here.
As new reports surface on the maltreatment of caged and captive tarsiers, Environmental Legal Assistance Center (Elac) executive director Raul Barbarona called on the DENR to review all certificates of wildlife farm permits it issued to business establishments especially in the towns of Loboc and Loay.
“Since the issuance of the permits is legally binding on the part of the permittees, then there should be a legal process for its revocation based on documented violations,” Barbarona said.
The DENR should likewise check whether these establishments holding captive tarsiers are observing the guidelines contained in the DENR certifications, such as their technical capabilities to hold captive the threatened species.
After an incident occurred between a tourist and a Cebu-based tour guide who allowed his guests to poke and force-feed the tarsiers in one establishment in Loboc, the issue regarding the permittees’ capability to hold the tarsiers in its possession has died down without any recommendations coming from the DENR.
Barbarona received reports that tourists visiting tarsier viewing sites in Loboc continue to hold the tiny species and even use camera flash when taking pictures within a close distance from the tarsiers.
According to Barbarona, instead of correcting and monitoring these reported incidents, “the DENR seems to be paying no attention on this unrestrained abuse”.
For his part, provincial board member Alfonso Damalerio II, principal author of an ordinance prohibiting the display of tarsiers outside its natural habitat, said the implementation of the provincial measure is already an executive prerogative.
There have been reports that the ordinance remains inutile as the executive has not crafted its implementing rules and regulations.
Barbarona said, the provincial government should check whether the DENR has issued new wildlife farm permits and ensure that compliance with the permit’s guidelines is followed.
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