PAWIKAN FESTIVAL

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The Pawikan Festival in Bataan is not only a celebration but is also a campaign to raise awareness and appreciation for sea turtles.

Colorful street dances and events like pageants and art exhibits are typical funfare for Filipino festivals, usually in honor of a patron saint. A festival in honor of pawikans (marine turtles), though, is not usually heard of. Held every November during the pawikan nesting season in Bataan, locals celebrate the Pawikan Festival not just for colorful merrymaking but also to raise awareness on the endangered pawikans.

Decades ago, locals themselves poached pawikan eggs for food and livelihood. But when Barangay Nagbalayong in Morong was identified by the Department of Natural Resources and the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement as a pawikan nesting site, locals began to understand the value of the pawikans. Among the 7 species of marine turtles in the world, 5 can be found in the Philippines. Three of them are in Bataan: the olive ridley, green turtle, and the hawksbill. Read More: https://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/travel/ph-travel/190149-turtle-release-pawikan-festival-bataan

Photo from: http://discoverbataan.blogspot.com/2013/01/pawikan-festival-yearly-celebration.html

The Pawikan Festival is held yearly at the Pawikan Conservation Center in Morong, Bataan. The main activity here is the releasing of the baby pawikan, which are hatched in the conservation center.

Every year, during the festivities, they invite visitors and thousands of students from the provinces to promote awareness and also be treated to some street dancing, sand sculptures, a showcase of local products, and witnessing how the hatchlings go back to the sea. Read More: https://www.ourawesomeplanet.com/awesome/2016/12/pawikan-festival-help-save-the-turtles.html

Photo from: https://pia.gov.ph/news/tags/pawikan-festival

The Bataan Provincial Tourism Office recently conducted a festive activity in Morong, Bataan locally known as the Pawikan Festival. The festival aims to make all Filipinos be aware of protecting endangered marine species especially for this type of turtle. We have been invited to take part in the festivity.

Pawikan (or commonly known as a tortoise) can be found in the tropical waters all over the Philippines and is slowly reducing its numbers due to environmental changes in the environment it is living. Pawikans are said that they can only lay eggs on the area or beach where they have been hatched (known as imprinting) and if they cannot find where they were born, they’ll cease to lay eggs – and they only lay eggs once or twice in their life. Read More: https://thejerny.com/travel/pawikan-festival-2018-help-save-the-pawikan/