By Keith Anthony Fabro and Jee Geronimo, Rappler
In July 2019, a Philippine court convicted three men of violating the country’s wildlife protection law. They were caught in possession of 10 Philippine pangolins, a domestic subspecies, at a checkpoint in Tagaytay City, Cavite, some 60 kilometers south of the capital Manila.
While the case was called the first successful conviction of wildlife traffickers from Palawan — where the Philippine pangolin is endemic — the penalty for the crime was light. The court sentenced each poacher to three months of imprisonment and a fine of 20,000 pesos, or about US$385. In August, the three men posted bail and filed a petition for probation.
