Ms. Anna Oposa is known to be the Chief Mermaid of Save Philippines Sea and from then on, I now assert a Chief Mermaid as one of the lacking, in-demand and difficult jobs worldwide simply because one has to be an environmental advocate by applying one’s area of expertise. It’s like using art to develop situational awareness because as she said “The earth without art is just eh”. Meanwhile, Anna makes use of her public speaking and free-lance writing skills to disseminate ecological problems and information. I really admire her determination and persistence when it comes to addressing issues regarding Philippines’ natural state towards various government agencies, environmental organizations and educational facilities through sending e-mails and messages.

          Despite the disparity between her degree and compassion for the environment, she was eager enough to learn facts and knowledge about the natural world especially in marine ecosystems. According to her: Philippines is the epicenter of marine diversity and adversity; an estimated 50-80% of all life on earth is found under the ocean surface; 350 million jobs are directly linked to the world’s five oceans and more than 80 other nations are involved in the fishing trade industry that generates $102 billion dollars yearly. On the other hand, here some dreadful news specified: coral reefs twice the size of Manila were destroyed due to poachers who devastated the seas in Cotabato; 5 to 10 fatal shark attacks only happen annually whereas to 50-100 million shark kills; only less than 2% of the world’s oceans are protected (nearly 12% for land). But what caught my attention is the fact that 80-90% of the Filipinos don’t know how to swim since I, too, don’t know how considering our country is an archipelago surrounded by bodies of water. With that, it is also said that almost 6,000 Filipino children drown every year. What an irony we have here. Anna also revealed that because of this, most Filipinos are not able to see the beauty and exceptional treasure underwater that is why it’s being neglected often times and the conventional fear towards oceanic creatures such as sharks remains.

           Citing all these specific observations and measures, she moved to broader generalizations and theories – the main problem of the Philippines, which is not poverty, instead, “apathy”. We, Filipinos, have a habit on focusing ourselves to other unnecessary matters. For instance, show business rather than our own domestic issues. We are likely to be affected by pointless trends averred by media and internet and then, afterwards, we still continue to compel it's our government's fault. So, let’s stop global whining and swim against the current as what Anna alleged, and be Chief Mermaids in our own unique and possible way.