The University of the Philippines-Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI), along with researchers from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), have launched an expedition to Pagasa Island in Palawan’s Kalayaan Group of Islands.

The 11-day expedition, which began on Oct. 19 and will conclude on Oct. 30, comprises 13 researchers from UP-MSI, two from Phivolcs, and 11 ship crew members aboard MV Panata.

UP-MSI Director Laura T. David said the expedition aims to monitor the coral reefs in the West Philippine Sea, which accounts for 40 percent of the country's corals.

"And yet, we cannot monitor these regularly. So how do you manage it? How do you make adjustments to how you take care of it? How do you extract the resources from it?" she pointed out during a send-off party held at the Quezon Hall in UP Diliman, with UP-MSI and UP System officials in attendance.

David said the expedition is important to ensure the safety and protection of these natural resources.

“The more ships we can have there, and the more institutes that can join us, the better,” she underscored.

The voyage is part of the UP-MSI's twice-a-year cruise to Pagasa Island and is partly funded by the national government's “Philippine Ocean Monitoring and Prediction System.”

"The project specifically aims to conduct field and oceanographic surveys as part of the periodic monitoring of the immediate environments around Pagasa island; to conduct maintenance activities on the Pagasa Island Research Station systems; and to survey the island for a possible location of an Earthquake Monitoring station on the island," UP said in a statement.

The current expedition is the fifth mission this year, and both MSI and the UP System are looking forward to its success and the benefits it will bring to UP and the country.

UP System officials attended the send-off party, including Executive Vice President Jose Fernando T. Alcantara and Vice President for Public Affairs Rolando B. Tolentino, Adviser for Collaboration and Alliance Building-State Universities and Colleges and Local Colleges and Universities Mr. Felizardo Colambo, and UP Political Science Asst. Prof. Ranjit Singh Rye.

UP-MSI representatives, including David, expedition’s chief scientist Dr. Cesar L. Villanoy, Dr. Caroline Marie B. Jaraula, Leilani A. Solera, Dolly C. Manic, Jimiah Villanueva, Mariel Jean Carreon, Natasha Charmaine Tamayo, and Yam Tolentino, provided an overview of the expedition.