Mayor wants turtle eaters declared ‘undesirable’

MAYOR Sara Duterte-Carpio urged the Davao City Council to declare the owner of a Korean vessel, its crew, and the Indonesian missionaries on board as “persona non grata” after dumping parts of a green sea turtle in a garbage bin in a wharf in this city.

Once declared as persona non grata, the parties involved will no longer be allowed to enter the jurisdiction of the city by land or by sea.

Hannah Parks, owner of MV Hannah II, has issued a public apology on the controversial incident.

She said the sea turtle, which was given to them by the president of Palau during a recent visit, was slaughtered there and the remains were kept in a freezer as they started traveling to the Philippines in November last year.

Parks said they dumped the sea turtle’s carcass in a biodegradable-labeled garbage bin inside the Sta. Ana pier because they don’t want to throw it into the ocean.

Parks’s explanation did not sit well with the mayor who instead urged the City Council to be quick in declaring them as “persona non grata” or unwelcome person.

“Do they think we’re dumb? If they killed and ate [the sea turtle] in Palau, why travel all the way to Davao with the carcass? I saw the pictures, it wasn’t decomposing,” the mayor said.

Green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) are listed as endangered by both the World Conservation Union and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites).

The inedible parts of the slaughtered turtle, including the head, were brought to the attention of a news crew of TV5 by residents around Sta. Ana Pier last Thursday. The MV Hannah II has been docked at the pier since November last year.

Report from Sun.Star