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Four Slovakian Scientists Arrested In Philippines PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines (AFP) - Four Slovakian scientists were arrested last Friday for attempting to smuggle out rare insects from the western Philippine province of Palawan, environment officials said. The scientists were identified as Eduard Jendek, Ondrej Sausa, Karol Bucjek and Tibor Spevar. The researchers from the zoology department of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava were caught before boarding a commercial flight from the Palawan capital of Puerto Princesa to Manila, the Department of Environment Natural Resources said in a statement. Environment officials said the four will be charged with violating a presidential decree banning the taking of rare species of plants and animals from the province, one of the Philippines' last marine and wildlife sanctuaries. They will be ordered to pay ten times the value of the species caught in their possession, deported and blacklisted from returning to the Philippines. Taken from them at the airport were butterflies, dragonflies, cicada, moths, crickets and beetles, the environment office said. The
four, who arrived in the country in January, said they were unaware of the
presidential decree. They also said they were going to use the specimens only
for research, not business. However, a group of environmental advocates here said
they had already warned the Slovaks last month to stop their activities
after they were seen collecting the
insects.
Newswires |
