LEAD SOX - League of Environmental Advocates and Defenders

04/06/2026

🔔 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗖𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗗 🌿

Thank you to everyone who submitted their applications for the 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 of LEAD SOX! 💚

We appreciate your willingness to lead, serve, and advocate for the environment. Stay tuned for further announcements regarding the selection process. ✨

01/06/2026

𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗛!

Tulad ng bituing nagbibigay-liwanag sa gabi, ang iyong kulay at pagkatao ay karapat-dapat na makita.
Mahalaga ka.

01/06/2026

26/05/2026

𝙆𝙖𝙗𝙖𝙩𝙖𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙊𝙓, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 👀🌿

🌿 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗘𝗫𝗘𝗖𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗜𝗟 ✨

Step forward and take part in shaping programs, strengthening advocacies, and creating meaningful impact for the environment and the community 🌏🍃

The Regional Executive Council is looking for passionate, committed, and purpose-driven youth who are ready to serve, collaborate, and make a difference.

If you have the heart to lead and the vision to act, this is where your journey begins. ✨

Apply now and be part of LEAD’s mission for a greener and more sustainable future 🌱

𝗗𝗢𝗡’𝗧 𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦 𝗢𝗨𝗧. 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗬 𝗡𝗔! ✨

14/05/2026

🌿 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗫 𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 ✨

The wait is over, Kabataang SOX! 💚

Join us for the 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗦𝗢𝗫 Orientation 2026 and take part in strengthening environmental awareness, leadership, and advocacy across SOCCSKSARGEN 🌱

📍 Via Microsoft Teams
📅 May 14, 2026
⏰ 7:30 PM

Get to know the vision, programs, and initiatives of the League of Environmental Advocates and Defenders (LEAD SOX) and discover how you can be part of meaningful environmental action for our region 🌏✨

Let’s come together, learn together, and lead together for the environment 🍃

13/05/2026

𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗜𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗞𝗘𝗡, 𝗔𝗖𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗕𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗜𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗡𝗟𝗬 𝗥𝗘𝗣𝗔𝗜𝗥

The Filipino people are exhausted. Not because we are weak, but because we have been failed too many times. The Senate, once a symbol of democratic deliberation, has become a stage for political survival. Walkouts replace debates. Hostility replaces statesmanship. Noise replaces governance.

This is not opinion. This is what the public sees.

While millions of Filipinos face rising prices, lost jobs, crumbling classrooms, and empty clinics, the leaders we elected are fighting each other instead of fighting for us. The cost of their conflict is not theirs to bear. It is ours.

We are not asking for perfection. We are asking for accountability.

The Filipino people demand leaders who remember that power is a borrowed trust, not a personal trophy. Democracy does not die in a single moment. It dies slowly when intimidation silences dialogue, when personal interest buries public welfare, and when elected officials treat their positions as privileges instead of duties.

To every senator, every congressperson, every local leader: the nation is watching. Silence is a choice. Inaction is a decision. Hiding behind political parties or legal technicalities is not leadership. It is abandonment.

We call on the youth. We call on every Filipino citizen. Do not look away. Do not normalize chaos. Truth and accountability are not partisan. They are the foundation of the Republic.

The future of the Philippines will not be saved by those who create confusion. It will be saved by those who refuse to stay silent in the middle of it.

In the midst of noise, may truth speak louder.
In the midst of conflict, may the people stand united.
In the midst of failure, may accountability begin.

Para sa bayan. Hindi para sa sarili.

✍️ : Former Regional Chairperson
💻 : Keah Amor Halim - Regional DCP Deputy Director

11/05/2026

COTABATO AY TAHANAN NG 21 SPECIES NG IBON

Alam niyo ba na ang Cotabato ay may 21 species ng ibon mula sa 17 pamilya? Ito ay ayon sa pag-aaral nina Baes at mga kasamahan (2024) na inilathala sa Journal of Threatened Taxa. Ang pag-aaral ay isinagawa sa tatlong urban green spaces: Notre Dame University (20 species), PC Hill (14 species), at Mother Barangay Rosary Heights (9 species). Labing siyam na porsyento ng mga naitalang ibon ay Philippine endemics, at lahat ng endemic species ay matatagpuan lamang sa Notre Dame University.

Sa Mt. Apo naman, matagumpay na nakita ng DENR-12 ang Southern Rufous Hornbill (Buceros mindanensis), isang ibong endemic sa Mindanao na kabilang sa vulnerable species category ng IUCN Red List. Kilala ito bilang "clock of the mountains" ng mga Obo Monuvu people dahil ang kanilang huni ay nagsisilbing natural na orasan sa kagubatan. Ang ibong ito ay fruit-eating species na may critical role sa seed dispersal.

Nadokumento rin ng DENR-Soccsksargen ang Philippine Trogon (Harpactes ardens), ang nag-iisang trogon species na endemic sa Pilipinas. Ito ay nagsisilbing bioindicator ng ecosystem health dahil sensitibo ito sa habitat disturbances.

SOURCES:

https://ouci.dntb.gov.ua/en/works/4EjLmyxl/

https://www.gmanetwork.com/regionaltv/features/101798/elusive-hornbill-endemic-to-mindanao-spotted-in-mt-apo/story/

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/denr-soccsksargen-notes-ph-trogon-2-species-of-squirrels-on-mt-apo

10/05/2026

DUMARAMI ANG IGAT SA REHIYON DOSE

Alam niyo ba na ang SOCCSKSARGEN ay hindi lamang human population ang lumalaki, kundi pati na rin ang populasyon ng Igat o freshwater eel?

Batay sa pag-aaral nina Asm at Castillo (2016) na inilathala sa Journal of Aquaculture Research and Development, may nakakagulat na bilang ng mga Igat ang naitala sa Ilog Pangi sa Maitum, Sarangani Province. Nakolekta ng research team ang 4,249 indibidwal na Igat sa iisang new moon period lamang. Ihambing ito sa 13 indibidwal lamang na nakolekta sa panahon ng full moon. Ibig sabihin nito, mas aktibo ang mga Igat sa panahon ng madilim na buwan.

Ang Indonesian Shortfin Eel (Anguilla bicolor pacifica) ay isa sa mga dominanteng species ng Igat sa rehiyon, na may dominance index na 46.12 percent. Ang species na ito ay katutubo sa tubig ng SOCCSKSARGEN at patuloy na dumarami sa mga ilog at estero ng rehiyon.

Sa kabilang dulo naman ng SOCCSKSARGEN, sa General Santos City, isang pag-aaral nina Shirotori at mga kasamahan (2016) sa Fisheries Science ay nakolekta ng halos 5,000 glass eel specimens sa pagitan ng April 2014 at March 2015. Pitong iba't ibang species ng Igat ang kanilang natukoy. Ang Giant Mottled Eel (Anguilla marmorata) ang nangibabaw, na bumubuo ng 76.1 porsyento ng lahat ng nahuling Igat.

Bakit ito importante? Ang freshwater eels ay kinikilalang bumababa ang populasyon sa buong mundo dahil sa overfishing, pagkawala ng tirahan, at climate change. Ngunit ang SOCCSKSARGEN ay tila isang exception. Ang ating mga ilog sa Sarangani, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato, at maging sa General Santos City ay patuloy na pinamumulaklakan ng mga Igat.

Ang lokal na pangalan na "Igat" ay karaniwang ginagamit sa buong rehiyon para sa iba't ibang species ng freshwater eel. Kilala rin sila bilang "kasili" sa ibang bahagi ng Pilipinas, ngunit sa SOCCSKSARGEN, ang tawag sa kanila ay Igat.

Ang patuloy na pagdami ng Igat sa rehiyon ay magandang senyales para sa kalusugan ng ating mga ilog at estero. Ibig sabihin nito, ang tubig ng SOCCSKSARGEN ay sapat na malinis para suportahan ang kanilang breeding at migration. Ito ay isang environmental victory na dapat nating ipagmalaki at pangalagaan.

✒️📋: Cedrick Placio | Regional Coordinator LEAD SOX

10/05/2026

THE BOSS OF SARANGANI BAY

The most abundant fish species in Sarangani Bay mangroves is the Feathered river Garfish, scientifically known as Zenarchopterus dispar. This was determined in Cagatan's 2017 thesis at MSU General Santos. Their high abundance indicates healthy mangroves. A sudden decline would signal environmental degradation.

SOURCE: https://thesis.msugansan.edu.ph/node/53

✒️📋: Cedrick M. Placio
💻🎨: Creative Committee