Wildlife bureau looking into Chavit Singson's duck-hunting trip with daughter

Photos of a former Ilocos Sur governor and his daughter hunting wild ducks has prompted the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau to launch an investigation into the incident.

 

According to a "24 Oras" report aired Tuesday evening, PAWB is working on building a case against the Singsons because hunting wild ducks is illegal in the Philippines.

 

“Bawal iyon. Hindi tayo nag-allow ng hunting for wild duck... Kailangang i-investigate natin iyong veracity ng photos,” said Dr. Mundita Lim, PWAB director.

 

The Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act prohibits the willful and knowledgeable exploitation of wildlife resources and their habitats.

 

The Philippine duck is endemic to the country and is included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. 

 

The overt flaunting of the perpetrated crime dismayed the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP), who expected the former governor to know laws on the conservation of local species.

 

“Nagulat rin ako na 'yung hunters ay educated people, very wealth and very powerful people. He's been a congressman, he's been a governor. Di ba lawmaker ka, alam mo dapat 'yung batas?,” said Michael Lu of WBCP.

 

“Nagulat kami na may mga Facebook pages pa pala na hunters, so madami palang hunters sa Pilipinas. Knowing that it's a crime, pinagyayabang pa nila na 'kaya namin',” he added.

 

Lu, co-founder and vice president of WBCP said in an earlier article that there is no hunting season in the country because it is illegal to hunt wildlife in the Philippines.

 

Three weeks before the picture went viral, Rochelle Louise Singson-Michael posted various photos on Instagram depicting her holding dead ducks and rifles with her father, former Ilocos Sur governor Luis "Chavit" Singson.

In the screen-capped photograph, she even used hashtags such as #Hunting, #fatherdaughter, #bonding, #whatsfordinner?, #wildduck, #adobo.

 

In the photograph's page, she even joked with a friend that the ducks will taste better because of the work she and her father put in to get the meat. The photographs have since then been removed from her account.

 

GMA News Online has yet to receive a response from the Singsons. — Rie Takumi/JDS, GMA News