Daily TribuneThe fatal shooting of Carpenter, who dedicated nearly 50 years to studying and protecting Philippine marine life, has devastated the international scientific community and sparked widespread calls for justice.
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The live-in partner of renowned American marine biologist Kent Carpenter has been named a person of interest in his fatal shooting, Negros Oriental police announced Wednesday.
Col. Timmar Alam, Negros Oriental police chief, said the partner was unharmed during the attack. The finding contradicts her earlier statements to authorities claiming she had been sexually assaulted by the assailants.
The fatal shooting of Carpenter, who dedicated nearly 50 years to studying and protecting Philippine marine life, has devastated the international scientific community and sparked widespread calls for justice.
The University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute said in a statement that Carpenter’s pioneering research established the Philippines’ global reputation as the center of the center of marine shore fish biodiversity.
Carpenter was a leading advocate for declaring the Verde Island Passage, a strait extremely rich in marine life, as a National Protected Area and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“Dr. Kent Carpenter dedicated his life to revealing the extraordinary richness of the Verde Island Passage to the world,” said Father Edwin Gariguez, lead convenor of the advocacy group Protect VIP. “His work reminded us that the Philippines carries a global responsibility to protect this irreplaceable marine treasure.”
Gariguez joined colleagues in urging local authorities to conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the killing.
Carpenter first arrived in the Philippines in 1976, beginning a nearly five-decade relationship with Silliman University in Dumaguete City. He collaborated closely with the late National Scientist Dr. Angel C. Alcala on early conservation studies.
According to Silliman University, where Carpenter served as a research associate, his recent achievements included leading the Albatross Re-Collection Project, a landmark evolutionary genomics initiative that revisited the historic marine collections made by the US Fish Commission Steamer Albatross in Philippine waters more than a century ago.
Beyond his academic research, Carpenter’s work directly supported Philippine sovereign interests.
He served as a scientific advisor to the Philippine government during the 2016 international arbitration case over the South China Sea, providing critical satellite imagery, video evidence, and coral reef assessments.
Carpenter also conducted extensive fish surveys and published key papers defending the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park since 2018.
The Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources expressed its condolences, stating that Carpenter’s legacy will endure. The bureau noted that the ocean is richer because of him and the world is better because he walked it.
