00:00So we're going to prepare now to dive, not just a dive though, in Sulu.
00:12We're on our way, when I noticed a diver with me,
00:17a fish that is weak and almost unable to move.
00:23The fish has a tumor.
00:25We need to lift it up because it has a severe tumor.
00:28Let's see what we can do.
00:30Let's go!
00:34In 2018, in Haji Mutamad, Basilan,
00:38This is where the fish are caught.
00:4240 fish were caught and the authorities are collecting them.
00:47The caught fish are sold and eaten.
00:53Look at this. This is the part of the island where there's a lot of garbage.
00:56It's hard to find because it is obstructed.
01:08The beauty of Sulu,
01:11is not only in their forests,
01:15but also in the depths of their oceans.
01:18That's why I haven't been able to dive in one of the dive sites here,
01:29Panglima Tahil.
01:32But our fun dive,
01:35seems like we're going home in an emergency.
01:48It's still early, but we're ready to dive.
01:52It's a perfect day to dive.
01:55There's no current.
01:58Nice weather.
02:02According to the residents,
02:05this island is known to be inhabited by fish.
02:09That's why we will try to see them.
02:12When we dive,
02:16a sea snake immediately jumped on me.
02:23Even though they're not aggressive,
02:26we still have to be careful.
02:29Especially since they have a leader.
02:32After a few minutes,
02:35we saw something.
02:38A nearby big fish.
02:43Next to it,
02:45is another fish that is a resident of the island.
02:51It's a sea snake.
02:54It's a sea snake.
02:56It's a sea snake.
02:58It's a sea snake.
02:59It's a sea snake.
03:02It's Donatello.
03:04They're both small.
03:06This is what any animal should be able to see in the sea.
03:12We're on our way,
03:14when suddenly,
03:16my diver noticed something.
03:19From a distance,
03:21it looks like a big rock full of moss.
03:25But when we approached it,
03:28it's just a rock.
03:32On my first dive in Panglima Tahil in Sunu,
03:37we were able to capture the beauty and richness of their ocean.
03:43But underneath,
03:45something fell on us.
03:50A rock
03:52that we thought was dead.
03:53But to our surprise,
03:55it's still alive
03:57and in critical condition.
04:00Our decision was also critical.
04:05We decided to lift it up and help it.
04:10Almost at the end of a flip or flip of the rod.
04:14The rod has a tumor.
04:16The rod has a tumor.
04:18The rod has a tumor.
04:24We need to lift it up because it has a lot of tumors.
04:28Let's see what we can do.
04:40What a dive.
04:42We didn't expect to see
04:44a turtle that needs help.
04:46I was divided.
04:48Sometimes, you have to let nature take its course.
04:51But I was pitiful.
04:53Usually, turtles
04:55stay underwater for a long time when they breathe.
04:59But this one,
05:01it only breathed three times,
05:03which is not normal for a sea turtle.
05:05It's really hard for it to stay underwater.
05:07This is where I saw the concern and concern
05:11of my team and the residents of the turtle.
05:16Our next step
05:19is to lift it up.
05:22The whole team decided to bring the turtle up
05:26so we can examine and see what we can do.
05:29We can operate on it and take out the tumor.
05:32The turtle's condition is 50-50.
05:35So, we decided to operate on it.
05:38Because its body is almost full of tumors,
05:56it has 15 tumors.
06:08Just do nerve blocking
06:10by using some local anesthesia.
06:15This is just to minimize the bleeding.
06:25Look at that.
06:27The neck of the tumor.
06:28Look at the tumor.
06:58I was with some of the residents of Sulu
07:01in treating the turtle.
07:03Taking out
07:05the first tumor.
07:08The skin is thick.
07:12If not treated,
07:14the turtle can become weak and die.
07:18It's really hard to get the roots.
07:22That's a tumor.
07:24We have to excise it completely.
07:26I think we're almost
07:28done with the side.
07:30It's really hard to get the roots.
07:34That's a tumor.
07:36We have to excise it completely.
07:39I think we're almost
07:41done with the side.
07:49I'm going to stitch up.
07:57Now, we're going to work on the neck area
08:02towards the right flipper.
08:15My last two stitches
08:17and
08:20we're done
08:22with the
08:24marungas.
08:26This is an
08:27old name of this place.
08:28I'm going to give
08:30antibiotics and pain reliever
08:32to our patient.
08:34In no time,
08:35we're going to bring him back to the sea
08:37so we can document his swimming
08:39so he can be a brand new turtle.
08:42Marungas' surgery was a success.
08:46It took us an hour
08:48to operate
08:50Marungas.
08:53These are the tumors we removed.
08:55All these tumors
08:56we were able to take out.
08:58It's time to release Marungas.
09:04Before we let him go,
09:06I checked
09:08if he has enough strength to swim.
09:11Wow, look at this.
09:13Our patient
09:14is ready to swim
09:15without all those tumors.
09:17Nice save, you know.
09:18This is a great day for all of us
09:21because we just came here
09:23to see the resident
09:24sea turtles.
09:25But
09:26this is what we encountered.
09:28We encountered
09:30a sea turtle
09:31that needs help.
09:33When we put Marungas in the water,
09:36he suddenly
09:37and seemingly
09:38regained his strength.
09:42So we slowly
09:43released Marungas
09:45back to his home,
09:48the sea.
09:55Now,
09:56Marungas
09:57is able to swim again
09:58in the 5th wave.
10:01He is strong
10:02and in a good condition.
10:07In every expedition
10:08that we go to,
10:11we try our best
10:13especially
10:14in unexpected situations.
10:17And no matter
10:18the situation
10:19of their lives
10:20that we face,
10:22we are ready
10:23to help
10:24in order to
10:25save
10:26and reduce
10:27their suffering.
10:37The sea is calm.
10:39The sea turtles
10:40are calm.
10:42The sea turtles
10:43are calm.
10:45But
10:46the sea turtles
10:48are busy with their food
10:50that can be seen
10:51in the corals.
11:04These two
11:05seem to have
11:06something to talk about.
11:09Until
11:10their peaceful life
11:12was surrounded
11:13by fear.
11:16They were caught
11:17by humans
11:18and eaten.
11:20The fish
11:21are here.
11:27They are fighting.
11:29Four people
11:30were killed
11:31because of
11:32their food.
11:34The sea turtles
11:35are the only
11:36survivors
11:37in the life
11:38of the sea turtles
11:39that seems
11:40to have increased.
11:54Residents of
11:55Langil Island,
11:56Basilan,
11:57said that
11:58there are a lot
11:59of sea turtles.
12:00That's why
12:01for the first time,
12:02we will try
12:03to document this.
12:07We want to see
12:08the sea turtles
12:09that are below.
12:10Let's see
12:11if they are calmer.
12:18In our investigation,
12:20the sea turtles
12:21became frightened.
12:24The sea turtles
12:25seem to be camera shy.
12:30They left
12:31as soon as they saw me.
12:37To prevent them
12:38from getting scared,
12:39we used a drone.
12:41This one is
12:42good at
12:43eating alone.
12:46Another sea turtle
12:47is also close to him.
12:50But I learned
12:51about the situation
12:52of the sea turtles there.
12:59I learned about
13:00the situation
13:01of the sea turtles there.
13:02They were caught
13:03by humans
13:04to eat.
13:07In the past,
13:08sea turtles
13:09were caught
13:10by humans
13:11to eat.
13:12There is no record
13:13of how many sea turtles
13:14were caught by humans
13:15in the past.
13:16Until now.
13:18Until now.
13:19Humans are ignorant.
13:23Everything changed
13:24now.
13:25Because instead of
13:26being caught,
13:27they were saved
13:28by humans
13:29to return
13:30to the wild.
13:32In this batch,
13:33I saw
13:34more than
13:3510 sea turtles.
13:38Why did you keep them?
13:39For protection.
13:40Protection from them?
13:41There are more chances
13:42that they will live.
13:43Although not all of them,
13:44but as a majority
13:45of them,
13:46they will live.
13:47Like,
13:48if they are still
13:49in the dock,
13:50but there are
13:51many threats.
13:52They will eat
13:53fish.
13:54They will eat
13:55birds.
13:58This one is
13:59one month old
14:00in the care
14:01of the captain.
14:03He feeds
14:04fish.
14:08Green Sea Turtle
14:09and Hawksbill Turtle
14:10are the species
14:11of sea turtles
14:12that can be seen
14:13on the island.
14:16They plan
14:17to return them
14:18to the sea
14:19when the sea turtles
14:20are big enough.
14:22But because
14:23the sea turtles
14:24are in the dock
14:25with water,
14:26it is possible
14:27that their
14:28natural instinct
14:29will disappear.
14:31We need to return them
14:32because otherwise,
14:33they will not learn
14:34how to survive
14:35in the wild.
14:36Like,
14:37they will
14:38get their own food
14:39because
14:40they are used to
14:41being fed here.
14:42Yes.
14:46At the moment,
14:47they are destroying
14:48the prison
14:49for the sea turtles.
14:52In 2018,
14:53in Haji Mutamad,
14:54Basilan,
14:55they are slaughtering
14:56the sea turtles here.
14:5740 sea turtles
14:58were killed
14:59and the authorities
15:00chased them away.
15:03The slaughtered
15:04sea turtles
15:05were sold
15:06and eaten
15:07while
15:08more than
15:0920 sea turtles
15:10are still alive
15:11and clean.
15:15When I went around
15:16the island,
15:17I saw a new
15:18threat
15:19to the sea turtles.
15:21The garbage
15:22in the sea.
15:23While we were
15:24walking here
15:25in the beach
15:26of Langil,
15:27we noticed
15:28these sea turtle
15:29tracks.
15:31It went here
15:32and then
15:33it came back.
15:34Look at this.
15:35This is the part
15:36of the island
15:37where there's a lot
15:38of garbage.
15:39Maybe,
15:40when it was looking
15:41for a place to dig,
15:42it couldn't find it
15:43because it was
15:44obstructed.
15:45There's a lot
15:46of garbage
15:47and wood
15:48buried here.
15:49Maybe,
15:50this is one of the
15:51reasons why
15:52it came back
15:53and explored
15:54other areas.
15:55When we flew
15:56the drone again,
15:57we saw
15:58a turtle
15:59in the sea.
16:00We followed it
16:01until it reached
16:02the part
16:03of the sea
16:04where there's
16:05a lot of garbage.
16:12It covered it
16:13and ate it
16:14one by one.
16:20The garbage
16:21was with it
16:22when it swam.
16:24Only one
16:25turtle
16:26was left
16:27with the garbage
16:28in the sea.
16:31According to
16:32Dr. Deyo Onda,
16:33an oceanographer,
16:36garbage
16:37is not only
16:38found in the
16:39shallow parts
16:40of the sea.
16:41This is the
16:42deepest part
16:43of the Philippines.
16:44We're showing
16:45a raw depth
16:46of 10,045 meters.
16:47Third deepest
16:48place on the planet.
16:50Even
16:51in the bottom
16:52of the sea.
16:53Plastics down there
16:54is already alarming
16:55because why is there
16:56plastic in the
16:57deepest part
16:58of the Philippines?
16:59This is an indication
17:00of how much
17:01plastic is
17:02under the sea.
17:03Plastics that are
17:04not easily
17:05seen by humans
17:06are more alarming
17:07now.
17:08These are
17:09microplastics
17:10that can possibly
17:11affect the
17:12sea
17:13like the
17:14ocean.
17:15The problem
17:16with plastics
17:17is that they're
17:18not the same material.
17:19Plastics have
17:20many small
17:21organisms
17:22and bacteria
17:23attached to them.
17:24Those bacteria
17:25can also
17:26produce poison
17:27or even
17:28cause diseases.
17:29Last November,
17:30more than
17:3130 people
17:32ate fish
17:33in Maguindanao
17:34del Norte.
17:35Four people
17:36died here.
17:37There was
17:38one person
17:39who was
17:40arrested
17:41but the fish
17:42was alive
17:43when they
17:44caught him.
17:45Toxicive
17:46is the
17:47cause of
17:48cancer
17:49and the
17:50death
17:51of victims.
17:52It is a
17:53type of
17:54food poison
17:55that is
17:56obtained
17:57from eating
17:58fish.
17:59It is
18:00painful
18:01and
18:02contagious.
18:03This is
18:04just one
18:05of the
18:06symptoms
18:07of
18:08kilonotoxicive.
18:09Aside from
18:10toxic,
18:11salmonella
18:12can also
18:13affect
18:14the
18:15health
18:16of people.
18:17To date,
18:18studies are
18:19still ongoing
18:20on
18:21kilonotoxicive
18:22in fish.
18:23Those who
18:24survived
18:25still need
18:26to be
18:27monitored
18:28every
18:29day.
18:30In
18:312025,
18:32one of the
18:33IEC's
18:34contents
18:35will be
18:36the
18:37localized
18:38IEC.
18:39Most
18:40of our
18:41residents
18:42haven't
18:43studied yet.
18:44Before
18:45we left
18:46the island,
18:47we gave
18:48an educational
18:49campaign
18:50on how
18:51to take
18:52more
18:53care of
18:54the fish
18:55in their
18:56natural
18:57habitat.
18:58We
18:59trained
19:00turtles
19:01alone
19:02until
19:03she has
19:04laid
19:05all the
19:06eggs.
19:07This
19:08island is
19:09one of the
19:10most beautiful
19:11islands I
19:12have seen.
19:13Last
19:14night,
19:15the
19:16baby
19:17fish
19:18were taken
19:19away from
19:20the
19:21island.
19:22I
19:23just
19:24wish
19:25them
19:26a
19:27happy
19:28new
19:29year.
19:30I
19:31hope
19:32you
19:33will
19:34be
19:35happy
19:36too.
19:37Thank
19:38you.
19:39I
19:40will
19:41miss
19:42you.
19:43Thank
19:44you.
19:45Thank
19:46you.
19:47Thank
19:48you.
19:49Thank
19:50you.
19:51Thank
19:52you.
19:53Thank
19:54you.
19:55Thank
19:56you.
19:57Thank
19:58you.
19:59Thank
20:00you.
20:01Thank
20:02you.
20:03Thank
20:04you.
20:05Thank
20:06you.
20:07Thank
20:08you.
20:09Thank
20:10you.
20:11Thank
20:12you.
20:13Thank
20:14you.
20:15Thank
20:16you.
20:17Thank
20:18you.
20:19Thank
20:20you.
20:21Thank
20:22you.
20:23Thank
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