I remember receiving an email from the DENR Office of Region 6, inviting me to speak at the World Mangrove Day Webinar, "Intact Mangroves, Protected Future".

In this webinar, I presented my environmental advocacies as a Filipino youth. There I explained how Mangrove Matters PH was formed and how a youth movement dedicated to mainstreaming mangrove advocacy and protection is crucial in this climate crisis we are encountering.

During the Q&A section, I kept emphasizing the need to protect our mangroves because of the ecological and socioeconomic services they provide to people and the environment. I also underscored how reclamation projects can be irreversible and how such anthropogenic threats continue to endanger our remaining mangrove forests in the country.

Beyond proud to say that MMPH was among the Science Communication Awardees of the College of Science, University of Santo Tomas during its Centennial Celebration.

This recognition highlights our organization's continued efforts. I would like to immensely congratulate everyone involved in this milestone. Kudos as well to Leo for taking the leadership as the Executive Director of the youth organization.

We hope to inspire more people with our genuine and meaningful causes. Our efforts are not only for the mangroves but also for the communities that depend on this ecosystem as critical sources of livelihood, food, protection, and resilience.

I recently participated in the 2026 Blue Wave Conference in Xiamen, China where I was invited to be a panelist, representing Youth Engaged in Wetlands - YEW, during the Outstanding Young Ocean Scholars Forum: Youth Empowering Transformative Ocean Science on June 6, 2026. I highlighted the importance of youth engagement and the resources and support needed to sustain youth-led marine conservation initiatives.

I am beyond grateful for the invitation from Shenghui Li of Guangdong Ocean University, who is among the event organizers.

We also celebrated the 5th year anniversary of the ECOP (Early Career Ocean Professionals) Programme and World Oceans Day.

I started my year traveling to General Santos City from Negros Occidental to participate for the Sarbay-anihan event organized by Project Lawud, a dynamic youth organization based in Mindanao advocating for the conservation and protection of dugongs through research, advocacy, and community and youth engagements. 

During my talk, I presented my environmental advocacies and my motivation in pursuing them. There, I mentioned that I wanted to become a medical doctor but my fear of blood redirected me to a path towards marine biology. Further, I also showcased my local, national, and international initiatives to spark inspiration for everyone.

A call to action was to keep ourselves grounded and help each other out in this triple planetary crisis that we are now facing.