It was only upon my retirement that I discovered we have native turtles in the Philippines. This realization struck me deeply because it meant that throughout my entire education — from grade school to college — I was never taught about the existence of our own endemic turtle species. How many young Filipinos today, I wonder, know more about turtles through pop culture, such as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, than about the real ones that inhabit our lands and waters?

Señeres, I. (2025, August 4). Protecting our endemic turtles. Panay News, p. 7.