The Philippines destroyed five tonnes of elephant tusks today in a landmark event aimed at shedding its image as one of the world's worst hotspots for illegal African ivory trading.
The backhoe of a bulldozer began crushing hundreds of tusks in a wildlife bureau carpark, as the nation became the first in Asia to eliminate its multi-million-dollar stockpile.
"This act is a strong statement to the rest of the world that the Philippines will not tolerate the illegal wildlife trade," Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said.
The five tonnes of ivory came from a total of about 13 tonnes seized by customs officers since the mid 1990s, with the two biggest hauls at Manila's seaport and international airport in 2005 and 2009.
The rest of the ivory, worth many millions of dollars on the black market, was stolen over the years.
Most of it went missing while being kept by the customs bureau, a notoriously corrupt organisation in the Philippines, and a wildlife bureau officer is on the run after being charged with stealing about 700 kilograms.
The Philippines was in March named by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) as one of eight nations that was failing to do enough to tackle the illegal trade in elephant ivory.
The others were Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malaysia, Vietnam, China and Thailand, and they were warned they could face international sanctions on wildlife trading if they failed to take action.
The United Nations and conservation groups have warned the demand for ivory is leading to the slaughter of thousands of African elephants each year, and could eventually lead to their extinction.
The Philippines was named because of its role as a transport hub for African ivory being smuggled into countries such as China, Vietnam and Thailand, where demand has skyrocketed in recent years.
The ivory is highly sought after for statues, trinkets and other items to showcase wealth.
Demand is also high in the Catholic Philippines, with the ivory used for religious icons.
Paje said the destruction of the ivory was one part of the government's action plan submitted to CITES since March to show it was trying to curb the trade.
Another was today's launch of a multi-government-agency taskforce focused solely on the ivory trade.
"The Philippines will not be a party to this massacre (of African elephants) and a conduit for the cycle of killing," Paje said.
