The Verde Island Passage (VIP), dubbed the “Amazon of the Ocean” for its rich marine biodiversity, is now poised to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located between Luzon and Mindoro, it boasts the highest concentration of marine shorefish species in the world.
“We are being recognized as the richest in the realm of the sea, that’s something that we need to protect. We need to have a responsibility over it to keep this intact,” Gela Petines, Founder of Batang VIP said.
Interview by Edg Adrian Eva
Audio editing by Jayson Mariñas