The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is pushing to declare ecologically important areas in the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) as marine protected areas (MPAs) in the contested West Philippine Sea. DENR says the move is based on nearly a decade of Filipino-led marine scientific research conducted in the area. The proposal was highlighted during a symposium titled “Science – to – Stewardship – to – Sovereignty: A Decade of Marine Scientific Research in the West Philippine Sea.” The event, organized by DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) and the Ocean Environments Task Force, commemorates the 10th anniversary of a landmark 2016 effort related to marine research in the region. In calling for the establishment of MPAs, DENR frames the protection of these areas as a way to support stewardship of marine ecosystems while reinforcing Philippine involvement in scientific study of the West Philippine Sea. The reports do not specify which exact sites within the Kalayaan Group would be covered or the timeline for any declaration.