The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has started looking into circumstances behind photos showing a group of people, allegedly teachers, picking up and throwing starfish back into the sea in Palawan.

The photos, posted in the Facebook page of Palawan Supernews, has gone viral, drawing flak from netizens, since being posted on Monday, Nov. 12.

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In a statement issued on Tuesday, the DENR said that its Biodiversity Management Bureau had the field office in Palawan and the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development.

“An info campaign will also be prepared for this. Thank you for bringing this to our attention,” it added.

The agency also tagged the Department of Education’s Twitter account on its post to call its attention as the people in the photos were alleged to be teachers.

The DENR issued this statement as a reply to one netizen who also posted controversial photos on Twitter.

According to the agency, the essence of sustainable tourism is “protecting and conserving the very source of their livelihood, which is their environment and natural resources, so that others can enjoy and appreciate these for a longer period of time.”

We agree. That is the essence of sustainable tourism: protecting and conserving the very source of their livelihood, which is their environment and natural resources, so that others can enjoy and appreciate these for a longer period of time. :-) ADVERTISEMENT — DENR (@DENROfficial) November 13, 2018

This time, DENR was responding to a tweet that said the “DOT (Department of Tourism) together with DENR should educate the locals especially the respective municipalities charging tourist fees.” /atm

The DOT together with DENR should educate the locals especially the respective municipalities charging tourist fees. (para saan nga ba ang tourist fees?) If this persist, sila din mawawalan ng kinabuhayan if they don’t educate the tourists. — Better PH (@LivesMatterPH) November 13, 2018

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