The Philippine Alliance of Xseminarians (PAX) joins our friends, the people of Culion, Palawan, in calling for the protection and preservation of Cycas wadei (locally known as Pitogo) and its habitat. This plant symbolizes the hope, resilience and passion of the people of Culion.
Pitogo was first discovered by Dr. H.W. Wade when he went to Culion to treat leprosy and, thus, gave their forefathers hope. Wade introduced the taxon to the world and drew attention to this little island once referred to as “the land of the living dead.” Like the Culion inhabitants, past and present, the plant exudes beauty and resilience. It also typifies the patience of the lepers who were “exiled” to the island as they waited and hoped for that time in their lives to be accepted again as normal and productive members of humanity.
The people of Culion invite attention to the 1997 International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Plants. They are pleading for the Cycas wadei’s propagation, not its extinction, so that the plant will become part of our children’s lives and those of future generations’.
We join the people of Culion and the province of Palawan in calling for media support for the protection of the Cycas wadei and its habitat. We support the call for the area where the Pitogo grows to be protected. Let the plant and its habitat become a national park and national treasure. Let the taxon be the symbol of the new Culion: peaceful, hopeful, resilient and friendly.
—PAX RICKY RIBO, president, (ribolaw@yahoo.com),
PAX BONG ALMONTE,
secretary general, (rbalmonte214@yahoo.com), PAX GLEN LISBOA, member (glenlisboa@yaho0.com.ph), Philippine Alliance of Xseminarians