Coral enthusiasts and marine conservationists on Friday raised the alarm over a “massive” coral bleaching going on across Calatagan town, Batangas province, and elsewhere on the western coast of the Philippines. The Philippine Coral Bleaching Watch, an online citizen reporting platform, said it had “received multiple bleaching reports” in parts of the waters off the provinces of Batangas, northern Palawan, Mindoro and Negros Occidental, and on Panay Island. It said bleaching, due to an increase in the sea surface temperature, was “likely happening” in these areas, placing them under alert level 1 as defined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Cinco, M. (2020, June 20). Massive coral bleaching hits Batangas waters. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A10.