The University of the Philippines and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources are mourning the terrible loss of Kent E. Carpenter, an American scientist who first came to the country as a volunteer assigned to study our coral reefs, which led to discovering a wealth of information and a landmark report establishing the Philippines as “the center of the center of marine shore fish biodiversity.” His knowledge of marine science proved useful when he testified at the 2016 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea arbitral tribunal in The Hague, which favored the Philippines and declared invalid China’s “nine-dash line” claim over the South China Sea.

A terrible loss. (2026, July 23). The Manila Times, p. B10.