NEWS

Panaon Island Protected Seascape (PIPS) officially declared in the province of Southern Leyte

On August 29, 2025, one day before international Whale Shark Day (Aug 30) Republic Act No. 12238 was enacted into law officially declaring the Panaon Island Protected Seascape as a protected seascape under the Expanded National Integrated Protected Area System (E-NIPAS) Act. 

Located in the province of Southern Leyte, the protected area recognises the richness of biological resources and ecological importance of the waters of Panaon Island, which encompasses the Municipalities of Liloan, Pintuyan, San Francisco and San Ricardo. 

Panoan Island has always held a special place in LAMAVE’s heart - we have been working within its waters for more than a decade and it is home to one of our longest running whale shark research and conservation projects. Together with local communities the team have identified over 350 individual whale sharks in the waters of Panaon Island. In 2013, we encountered a whale shark with the remnants of a plastic tag on its dorsal, now nicknamed  “Pasipiko”. The tag led us to Dr Hua Hsun Hsu in Taiwan and using photo-ID we were able to confirm that “Pasipiko” had last been seen in Taiwan - over 1600km away! It is just one encounter, which highlights how important the water of Panaon are for whale sharks, not just in the Philippines, but the wider region. 

"Pasipiko" photographed by the team in 2013

A LAMAVE researcher captures photo and size data of whale shark

A whale shark photographed by the team in the waters of Panaon Island

A LAMAVE researcher captures photo-identification data of a whale shark

The team on survey in the waters of Panaon Island, Southern Leyte

Aside from the rich biodiversity in this area (coral reefs, fish and invertebrates, dolphins, turtles) we are very proud of the people of Panaon Island who have consistently shown themselves to be leaders in protecting biodiversity and championing sustainable marine tourism. We’ve seen stakeholders shine as the stars of Their Future Our Future (a campaign championing sustainable marine wildlife tourism in 2016) to taking the stage at events on Responsible Marine Wildlife Tourism in other provinces.

Sir Lito holds up a message as part of the Their Future Our Future campaign

Seabreeze womens Association developing handmade whale shark plushies.

KASAKA tour guides and LAMAVE researchers during a swimming training session

Raul Cordova from KASAKA presenting at a Responsible Tourism Event in Bohol

Members of the People Organisation KASAKA participate in the campaign Their Future Our Future

Mural painting with AG Sano in Pintuyan at the local school.

Sogod Bay Alliance meeting in Liloan, Southern Leyte

Many individuals, organisations and government agencies have been working hard to safeguard the coral reefs and rich marine biodiversity of Panaon Island, and this legislation is a testament to ensuring this continues. This quote from Von Hernandez, Oceana’s Vice President in the Philippines sums it up: “This [Panaon Island] is one of the rare places where coral reefs remain in excellent condition, and we now have a chance to keep them that way. This policy milestone defends marine biodiversity, enhances food security, and fights poverty.”

Congratulations to Oceana Philippines, its partners and all the stakeholders that have played a role in achieving this status for Panaon Island; we are very proud to have been a part of this effort and we look forward for whats to come.