SagiPaWeCan. (Left photo, L-R) Sagip Pawikan Sitio Fuerte President Arnold Mendoza, PGENRO OIC Raphael De Leon, Morong Vice Mayor Leila Linao-Muñoz, GNPD Reputation and Stakeholder Manager Joseph Paolo Mendoza, and Morong Mayor Cynthia Linao-Estanislao lead the release of 192 pawikan hatchlings at the SagiPaWeCan center in Morong, Bataan last February. (Right photo) Emerging from their nests, sea turtle hatchlings crawl to the water’s edge and swim out to sea.
MORONG, Bataan — Aboitiz Power Corporation (AboitizPower), through private limited partnership GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co. (GNPD), concluded its three-year sea turtle or pawikan protection and conservation program, SagiPaWeCan, in Sitio Fuerte, Barangay Poblacion, Morong, Bataan, with a hatchling release.
SagiPaWeCan was created to provide safe nesting environments that facilitated better hatchling survival. It also promoted conservation awareness, thus empowering local communities and fostering a deeper culture of environmental responsibility in the province.
During its three-year run, the program transplanted 37,021 olive ridley eggs and released 35,632 hatchlings. This is equivalent to a 96.25% hatching rate, which can otherwise decline to 25% or less if the hatchlings are left to disturbances and predators.
“SagiPaWeCan has made a lasting mark on Bataan’s environmental conservation efforts,” said Provincial Government Environment and Natural Resources Office (PGENRO) OIC Raphael De Leon. “It significantly contributed to the preservation of Bataan’s sea turtle population, strengthened the province’s eco-tourism potential, and educated local communities about environmental stewardship.”
According to Sagip Pawikan Sitio Fuerte President Arnold Mendoza, training, equipment support, and consistent engagement has empowered the group to take an active role in conservation.
“Volunteers were transformed into marine life protectors, gaining not only environmental awareness but also a deeper sense of purpose and pride.”
Launched in 2023 through a Memorandum of Agreement with the Provincial Government of Bataan, the program helped address the threats faced by endangered pawikan populations along the province’s coastline. It supports GNPD’s “Protect Marine Life” initiative under its P.R.O.G.R.E.S.S framework and the UN Sustainable Development Goals 14 (Life Below Water and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
P.R.O.G.R.E.S.S., which stands for “Protect marine life, Reforest land, Optimize wealth from waste, Generate livelihood skills and income, Rehabilitate social infrastructure, Elevate educational opportunities, Safeguard quality health access, and Strengthen disaster resiliency”, is GNPD's strategy for corporate social responsibility, focused on co-creating positive change, shared value, and sustainable social and environmental development.
The Philippines is home to five of the seven sea turtle species in the world, three of which — the green, hawksbill, and olive ridley turtles — nest on the shores of Bataan. According to the IUCN Red List, the hawksbill is critically endangered, while the green and olive ridley turtles are classified as endangered and vulnerable, respectively. Their declining populations are attributed to habitat loss, illegal poaching, marine pollution, and climate change.
All three marine turtle species are protected under the Philippine Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act (RA 9147), making conservation efforts like SagiPaWeCan timely and necessary, serving as a compelling example of how private sector leadership, together with community collaboration, can create meaningful and lasting impacts.
GNPD is a 2x724.965 megawatt (gross) coal-fired power plant in Mariveles, Bataan, which is considered by far to be the largest coal-fired power plant in the country today utilizing supercritical technology that fully complies with the most stringent local and international environmental and emission standards.
The Aboitiz Cleanergy Park
MATINA APLAYA, Davao City – What was once eight hectares of grassland along a coast in Punta Dumalag is now an outdoor biodiversity learning center, ecological preserve, and haven for pawikans.
An initiative of the Aboitiz Group and managed by Davao Light and Power Co., a subsidiary of AboitizPower, the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park now stands as a model of habitat conservation and biodiversity management, supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals 13 (Climate Action), 14 (Life Below Water), and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
Pawikan rescue center. The Aboitiz Cleanergy Park serves primarily as a hatchery and rescue center facility for marine turtles. The protection and care of marine turtles in Punta Dumalag is important as pawikans in the area were prone to poaching and illegal fishing practices.
Environmental care practices, along with local government and civil society support, help protect pawikan nesting areas and hatchlings within its premises while nurturing injured adult green, hawksbill, and olive ridley sea turtles back to health.
The project team identified and onboarded partners from different aspects of society, leading to greater awareness and engagement, and collaborative programs like tree plantings and enhancement of the turtle rehabilitation facilities.
In October 2024, after more than five years at the Park, a Hawksbill that was found with spear wounds, and an Olive Ridley that was picked up weak and floating in the sea, were deemed fully recovered and set free before a crowd that cheered as the two swam away. Since 2014, in coordination with the DENR-Region XI, 32 pawikans have been rescued and accommodated to varying results.
A total of 89 turtle nests were also secured since 2014, leading to a hatching rate of over 80%. Park personnel were able to identify, monitor, and secure threatened nests, and transfer them to the hatchery, resulting in safer hatching conditions. With the intervention of the Park, more than 10,000 turtle hatchlings have been released to date.
Therma South also releases pawikan hatchlings
TORIL, Davao City – Meanwhile, another AboitizPower subsidiary, Therma South, Inc., have released a total of 142 hatchlings from pawikan nests found along its shoreline since the start of the year. The hatchlings were released by team members, local barangay officials, and experts from Ridge to Reef Environmental Consultancy. Ridge to Reef also conducted a Marine Turtle Management Training for security personnel of Therma South.
The plant’s coast has been a known nesting ground for olive ridley sea turtles, with a nesting mother frequently returning and laying eggs. Close to 500 eggs were first discovered in April after an olive ridley mother pawikan was observed in the area earlier this year. Experts relocated 115 eggs from the first nest to a safer location. Subsequent nests contained 76, 88, 108, and 109 eggs, respectively. Last May, the mother pawikan returned to lay another 109.
Thirty pawikan hatchlings were first discovered and released at Therma South in December 2018. The next year, 303 hatchlings from four nests followed. Pawikan nests were found again in 2024, with 86 of 120 hatchlings released by team members, officials from the DENR - Environmental Management Bureau, and trained Aboitiz Cleanergy Park caretakers.
Currently, the Safety, Health, and Environment Department of Therma South closely monitors the remaining pawikan nests. The team has built barricades around the nests to protect them from predators.
“We will continue to actively monitor our shoreline and help protect its marine biodiversity as part of our environmental stewardship and communal responsibility in its host communities of Davao City and Sta. Cruz,” said Therma South Environmental Supervisor Geol. Reeka Angela Llenado.
Therma South is a 300-megawatt coal-fired power plant located between Davao City and Sta. Cruz in Davao del Sur. It uses the latest circulating fluidized bed technology that recirculates combustion for even greater power generation efficiency. Its facility also houses the Philippines’ first-ever coal dome, a structure that safely stores coal deposits and prevents dust pollution caused by its combustion.
AboitizPower’s active initiation and participation in biodiversity conservation brought people, communities, and groups to a shared goal of protecting the world where people and wildlife all live.
Therma South team members, together with experts from Ridge to Reef, set free 67 pawikan hatchlings at the coastal area of the Therma South power plant in Binugao, Toril, Davao City.
