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Take care of protected areas: Sen. Cynthia Villar calls on local government officials to exercise oversight over protected areas within their jurisdictions during the hearing of the Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. As the panel discussed bills seeking to declare more protected landscapes and seascapes in the Philippines, Villar lamented the significant rate of biodiversity loss due to human exploitation and mismanagement of the protected areas. She noted the abuse of the tenurial contracts entered into by the government with migrants in protected areas, citing the ongoing probe on an alleged cult occupying a protected area in Surigao del Norte. "Please look after your legislated protected areas because it's your responsibility," Villar said in mixed Filipino and English. "We have the power to really take care of our protected areas if we want to," she stressed. (Joseph B. Vidal/Senate PRIB)