“Dati meron pang mga malalaking isda na nagsisitalunan sa gilid ng bangkang sinasakyan mo. Ngayon, wala nang ganun.” (Before, there were large fishes jumping alongside the boat you are riding. Nowadays, you can’t see that anymore.) – Father Francis Francisco

The crystal clear water of Ragay Gulf would entice anyone who would have the chance to see its beauty. The intricate sculpture of every rock formation in the gulf are truly treasures of our fortunate country.

Sadly, these treasures are now being threatened by human activities. Dynamite fishing and commercial fishing are widespread within the area. Commercial fishing boats are using nets with small holes thus catching small fish too. Also, when their nets are stuck in a coral reef, they would free their nets by dropping a huge aluminum container filled with solid cement, crushing the reef with its impact. Marine natural resources and small-time fisherfolk are greatly affected by these activities.

Fortunately, several areas around the gulf are fully aware of what’s happening to their natural resources and are firm in doing something about it —. At the present, there are two fish sanctuaries and marine reserves in Libmanan town while there are two fish sanctuaries in San Fernando town.

Barangay Salvacion is one of the 75 barangays in Libmanan where residents are determined in protecting their coastal resources. What is unique about Salvacion is that their barangay council supports the projects of MAFA (Matanglawin Fisherfolks Association), a people’s organization in the barangay, which spearheads in enforcing the Republic Act No. 8550 or the Fisheries Code. RA 8550 states that the waters within 15 km from the coastline are municipal waters that are theirs to manage. In a meeting that was held last May 14, 2014 for the Coastal Resource Management (CRM) program, all the barangay officials and all the officers of MAFA were there—which proves how dedicated they were to this program.

Aside from the dynamite fishing and commercial fishing problems, barangays in the coastal area had different penalties and different levels of law enforcement. The problem with this is that illegal fishers will tend to go to an area where there is a low level of law enforcement but if all the barangays had the same high level of enforcement, there is a great chance that illegal fishing would diminish, if not be eliminated.

Caritas Diocese of Libmanan (CDL) created its program on Coastal Resource Management (CRM) in order to help in harmonizing the national law (Republic Act No. 8550) within all municipalities surrounding Ragay Gulf. They encourage the fisherfolk to organize and join the advocacy of resource management. They conduct meetings and training sessions for the fisherfolk in order to inform them about their rights and help them to maximize their resources. They also encourage the people to have Bantay Dagat (Sea Guardians) who will patrol their municipal waters against any illegal fishing.

With the help of CRM, Barangay Salvacion’s determination to protect their resources was strengthened. The residents even took the initiative to develop their community. Mr. Ignacio Manalo, a member of MAFA, planted around 10,000 mangrove trees near his own land to prevent landslide and provide shelters for the fish during high tides. The barangay captain, Mr. Roman Kanuel, is fully supporting what MAFA is doing in their community which made the program worked well. MAFA served as the sentinel of the sea, guarding and protecting their natural resources by assigning few groups of Bantay Dagat, coordinating with other barangays, and conducting activities to develop their resources like mangrove planting and livestock raising. Mrs. Salve Hermina, the chairperson of MAFA, said that, “…Ang ginagawa ng fisherfolks ay mapangalagaan itong aming karagatan kasi ‘yung mga coral reefs namin, ma’am, parang inaabuso nung mga dayuhan… Baka pagdating po ng panahon wala na tayong isda.” (What our fisherfolk do is to take care of our sea because it seems like our coral reefs are being abused by outsiders… The day might even come when we don’t have any fish left.)

They all do this because most of them grew up in Barangay Salvacion. They know the raw beauty of their homeland and witnessed how it was destroyed before their very eyes. With the help of CDL whose advocacy is to promote the stewardship of God’s creation, Barangay Salvacion realized the need to protect their homeland and encourage other barangays to do the same. If every barangay surrounding the Ragay Gulf would unite to achieve the same goal, maybe we could all witness the group of large fish jumping beautifully along our boat rides in the waters of Libmanan.

Angelica Caliwan graduated with a BA Communication Arts degree from UP Los Baños. She wants to serve by volunteering more for social development work. The people of Libmanan, Camarines Sur have a special place in her heart.