BURGOS-Typhoon Cosme left thousands homeless.

Including the province’s pawikan (sea turtles), a specie in the endangered list.

The white sand, the habitat of the giant sea turtles in this coastal town which has come to be known as the home of the pawikan, was washed away. Now gone is the white sand along the seven-kilometer coastline in sitios Paratet, Pao and Cabungaoan in barangay Ilio-ilio between the coastal towns of Agno and Dasol, where the giant sea turtles lay their eggs.

“This is the first time that their habitat is destroyed by a storm. I don’t know how it will be restored. Maybe it will take another storm to have it back,” said Mayor Domingo Doctor.

He said the town can only hope and pray that the pawikan will eventually return because “this is a safe place, their haven,” he said.

Experts from Norway who previously conducted studies on the town’s beaches, reported that the thick white sand here is ideal as a hatching ground for pawikans.

Tourists have been coming to the town to swim with the hordes of pawikan, which the town residents and local government have been protecting assiduously.

“When people dive, many of the pawikans could be seen hiding under the corrals and it is a lovely sight to behold,” the mayor said.

The community of pawikan dig holes at the white sand to lay its eggs and goes back to the sea.

People from the coastal communities used to enjoy brisk business selling pawikan meat believed to be an aphrodisiac while many homes kept the shell as a home decor until Doctor assumed office in 2001.

The mayor immediately adopted measures to protect the sea turtles that led to the declaration of the town’s coast as a protected area.#

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