Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu on Thursday expressed support for a bill seeking to conserve the critically endangered Tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis).
He called for the passage of House Bill 8299 or the proposed Tamaraw Conservation Management Act in response to the pressing need to conserve the remaining population of the Tamaraw, a dwarf buffalo that is endemic to Mindoro Island.
“We hope that the House of Representatives and the Senate will keep this bill in mind in choosing priorities to ensure that one of our country’s biodiversity treasures is conserved and protected,” he said.
He said he also “thoroughly supports the proposed crafting of a department administrative order for the Tamaraw conservation program while the bill is not yet a law.”
The country observed the National Tamaraw Month in October under the theme: “Tamaraw atin ito, Ipagmalaki mo bilang Pilipino!”
Authored by Occidental Mindoro Rep. Josephine Ramirez-Sato, HB 8299 calls for the creation of the Tamaraw Conservation Coordinating Council as well as a Technical Advisory Group, a Tamaraw Conservation Program Office, and a Tamaraw Conservation and Research Center that would be in charge of coordination, research, and pertinent activities to ensure that the program’s objectives are met.