Around 150 kilos of dead stingrays worth P60,000 were seized in Cebu City in May, according to the City Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF). This was confirmed by DVMF head Dr. Jessica Maribojoc in an interview with SunStar Cebu on Friday, June 9, 2023. Maribojoc urged the public not to capture stingrays or pagi in Cebuano because they are a great help to the sea. One benefit of not killing stingrays is that they help control the population of various marine organisms such as small fish, crustaceans and mollusks. By preying on these species, stingrays help prevent them from becoming too abundant and disrupting the delicate balance within the food web.

Fuentes, K. J. (2023, June 12). Cebu City veterinary office seizes 150 kilos of protected stingrays at Pasil Fish Market. SunStar Cebu, p. 4.