THIRTY-five GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co. (GNPD) employee-volunteers led the releasing of pawikan hatchlings at the Sagip Pawikan Foundation hatchery in Sitio Fuerte, Brgy. Poblacion, Morong, Bataan over the weekend.

The event drew a diverse crowd, including children, locals, public servants and environmental advocates, as 270 baby sea turtles were released into the sea.

Gracing the occasion were Bataan 3rd District House Representative Maria Angela Garcia, PGENRO officer in charge Raphael De Leon, Sagip Pawikan Foundation President Arnold Mendoza, Poblacion Barangay Captain Jerson Garcia and his councilors, and GNPD AVP for Community Relations Arcel Madrid.

The junior pawikan patrollers, who are composed of kids as young as seven years old, were also there.

De Leon said that pawikans benefit “not only the environment but also the fisheries and tourism of Morong and Bataan as a whole.”

In July 2023, GNPD inked a three-year agreement worth P4.3M with the provincial government of Bataan, PGENRO and the Sagip Pawikan Foundation to adopt the local hatchery.

The program is part of GNPD’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) flagship project.

Since then, the breeding ground has released a total of 10,926 hatchlings from a total of 15,587 pawikan eggs conserved.

The adoption has already generated 158 pawikan nests, from which 107 have already hatched and released into the wild.

Out of the seven sea turtle species in the world, five can be found in the Philippines. Three turtle species, including Green, Olive Ridley and Hawksbill turtles, make the shores of Morong, Bataan their nesting sites.

As the pawikans were gently let go to the water’s edge, a hushed silence fell over the crowd.

With each release, cheers erupted, echoing the collective hope for the sea turtles’ safe voyage to the vast ocean.

It was said that once female pawikans reach maturity in 25 years or so, they come back to where they were born and lay their eggs.