a q u a fa rm n e w s • LG U s and aqu aculture
L IP A SE C U ... fro m p r e v io u s p a g e
h a b ita ts fe tc h a p e n a lty o f P 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 - 500,000 and im prisonm ent at the discretion of the court.
The enforcem ent provision defines the sharing of co llected fines am ong the four m unicipalities: 30% to the m unicipality that c o n d u c te d th e a p p r e h e n s io n , 4 0 % to L IP A SE C U for law enforcem ent activities such as attorneys fees, and 30% to barangay funds to sup port the FA RM C S.
C onclusion
W ith the unified ordinance of LIPASECU , the L ocal G ov ernm ent C ode, an d the P hil
ippine F isheries C ode are given m eaning as the back bone o f conserv ation and p res
ervation of ou r m arine resources through em pow erm ent o f resource users. It is m ean
ingful to A Q D in that these m unicipalities su rro u n d M a la liso n , A Q D ’ s site for its C R M project. T he influence o f M alalison on these m unicip alities m ay be indirect but it is goo d to think that there w as a start and that start w as M alaliso n.
L IP A SE C U ’s experience is n o t differ
ent from other C R M projects around the country. In a report titled S tu d y on the M an a g em en t o f F ish eries/A q u a tic R eso u rc es at th e L o c a l L e v e l in th e P h ilip p in e s c o n ducted b y the L o c a l G overnm ent C enter of th e U n i v e r s i t y o f th e P h ilip p in e s in D ilim an, A u g u st 1996, the cap ab ility of L G U s to support and prom ote the princi
ples of C R M , anchored on the L ocal G o v ernm ent C ode is w ell docum ented.
R ose D im am ay attests to this. She says that “ the su ccess of L IP A SEC U lies in the supportive role o f all the L G U s concerned."
B ased on the netw orks and linkages am ong the various p lay ers in the project sites, a com m on approach is the strong participa
tion of the com m unity thru the N G O s and peop le’s organizations. A m ong the finding s r e g a r d in g fu n d in g , th e C e n te r re c o m m ended that the financial capacity o f the L G U be strengthened b y allocating to them shares from the n atio nal governm ent c o l
lection from fishery charges. T he D epart
m ent of B ud get an d M anagem ent h as been urged to lo o k into this m atter. ###
T h e le sso n M a la lis o n ta u g h t
B y R I Y A d a n
In 1990, SE A FD EC /A Q D scouted for an area for its CRM project. It w as a good thing M alalison Island off C ulasi, A ntique w as the m ost qualified site am ong the five areas considered.
T he establishm ent of C RM project in M alaliso n brought m any positive changes in the com m unity, n ot only w ith regards to their coastal resources but m ost im portantly to the hum an resources.
“T he people of M alalison are now edu
cated, responsible fisherfolk. T hey know that w hat they do now w ould benefit their children in the future,” said M s. L orn a A ngor, C ulasi’s A gricultural Technologist.
W hen A Q D form ally turned over the project to the M ala liso n com m unity on M arch 2 0 , 1998, islanders were left on their
ow n. B u t this did n ot alter the resid ents’
com m itm ent and enthusiasm in conserving their environm ent. T hey continu ed strict im plem entation o f ordinances, exercised TU RF, ap p reh end ed ille g a l fish ers, and w ent on w ith their surveillance o f the is
land. T he people now h ave the technical back ground esp ecially in assessin g their resources.
A lthough no d ata is yet available, p eo
ple have noticed the evident increase of fish catch around the island. This, M s. A ngor said, encourages the residents m ore to con
tinue doing all those things that A Q D has taught them.
T h e M a la lis o n C R M p ro je c t n o w serv es as a m o d el to c o a sta l b a ra n g a y s around Panay and m ost especially to nearby b a r a n g a y s in C u la s i. In fact, residents of B atbatan, an o th er isla n d of C u lasi, are hoping that their island w o u ld b e th e n e x t C R M site should there be another project.
“T h ey h av e seen the re s u lt o f M a la lis o n , an d they w ant to follow suit,”
C u la s i M a y o r L in d a Palacios com m ented. “The people on the islan d are already conscio us of the effect o f resource destruc
tion. T hey are paying the price today for all those il
le g a l ac tiv itie s th ey h ave d one.”
B a tb a ta n r e s id e n ts now h ave to fish far from the island because fish sup
p ly is a lre a d y d w in d lin g and insufficient.
“T h at’s w hy w e w an t A Q D to return. A Q D has ta u g h t th e p e o p le o f M ayor Linda P alacios
of Culasi
Local legisla to r F elipe D im acutac J r and m unicipal a gricu ltu rist E dgardo E scobanez
16 S E A FD E C Asian Aquaculture Vol. XXI No. 6 December 1999
aqu afarm n e w s • LG U s and aqu aculture
M alaliso n to be responsib le; that by taking care o f their environm ent, they are assured of continuous food supply,” said the M ayor.
Seeing the resu lt o f the C R M project, the m a y o r c a n n o t h e lp b u t w ish for all b aran gays in C ulasi to b e like M alalison.
T his first term er m ayor, how ever, thinks that all it takes for this w ish to becom e a reality is b y teaching the people.
“ I believe in the fam iliar p assag e that says: 'G ive m an a fish an d h e cou ld eat for a day. Teach him h o w to fish an d h e could eat for his w h o le life.' We are after the poor - our project w ill n o t o n ly give them the benefits b u t teach th em h o w to acquire these benefits. T he lo cal governm ent is behind the people. T h is,” she said, "is the concept o f our food security program for the m unicipality."
C u lasi’s thrust in food secu rity
T he m unicipal food security ag e n d a are focused on the fo llo w ing areas:
E x p a n sio n a n d rev ita liza tio n of the pro d u ctiv ity program . F or agriculture, there is rice production, seed production an d d is
p ersal, and u p lan d v eg e ta b le gard ening.
T he m ayo r plans to g iv e the people techni
cal back ground on raising u p land vegeta
b les like cabbage, carrots, sayote, etc. B er
m uda onion and garlic, w hich are com m on p rod u ce of M in d o ro , are an o th er target com m odities. C ulasi h as alm ost the sam e
topography w ith M indoro, so the m ayor thinks production of such w ill also b e fea
sible in her m unicipality. A side from this, there is an o n -go in g liv esto ck d isp ersal project.
F or fisheries, there is the prom otion of aquaculture through the establishm ent of m ore sanctuaries and the planting of m an
groves. There are also plans on seaw eed culture in M aniguin Island, m udcrab cu l
ture in M alacañ ang and grouper culture in M ala. F ingerling dispersal o f tilapia is an
other activity of the program .
C ulasi has an abundant supply of fresh
w ater; and this is w hy F elipe D im acutac Jr., S a n g g u n ia n g B a y a n m e m b e r an d form er chairm an on agriculture and fish
ery com m ittee, w ants to explore freshw a
ter fish culture.
O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e M a la lis o n project notably augm ented fish catch, to the point that fishers som etim es have surplus.
Thus, establishm ent of a fish processing center for this surplus is also envisioned.
Irriga tion . A dditional sm all scale irri
gation projects and repair of irrigation fa
cilities is planned to enhance the capabil
ity of the system .
F arm -to-m a rket roads and rela ted in f r a s tr u c tu r e . M o re ro a d s w ill b e c o n structed to facilitate and reduce transpor
tation cost of m arket products.
A g ricu ltu re a n d f ish e rie s R& D. The
m ayo r hopes to e m p o w er the people to in i
tiate, lead and participate in R & D program s of the lo cal governm ent.
E x te n sio n , e d u c a tio n a n d tra in in g . F arm o r fie ld s c h o o ls an d m a g sa sa k a - sey e n tista (farm er-scientist) program s w ill be extended.
R u r a l f in a n c e . T h e th r u s t is to strengthen rural financial institutions cap a
bility to better serve rural sector financing.
F o o d p r ic e sta b iliza tio n . A m unicipal m onthly price m onitoring cou ncil m eeting is proposed in this area.
P riv a te s e c to r p a r tic ip a tio n a nd em p o w erm e n t o f fa rm ers a n d fisherfolk. R e
activation o f private agriculture and fish
e r ie s c o u n c ils -- M A F C , B A F C s , M FA RM C and B FA R M C s - w ill be done.
E co-tou rism destination
A p art from the food se c u rity p ro g ram , M ayor P alacios also p lan s to m ake C ulasi an eco-tou rism d estination.
C ulasi h as the M adjaas m ountains and three islands to boast of. T he m ountain with its fantastic falls is alread y a favorite clim b d e s tin a tio n o f f o r e ig n e r s , w h ile th e M alaliso n fish sanctuary is often v isited by sc u b a d iv e rs . T h e re are a ls o re p o r te d sightings of ham m er h ead sharks an d d o l
phins in M aniguin Islan d w hich are ad d i
tional attractions.
“There are so m an y program s that w e have prepared - b u t w e do n o t have funds to im plem ent all these,” noted Mr. E dgardo E scobañ es, M unicipal A griculturist.
In fact, they only rely on 20% of the Internal R evenue A llotm ent for their A gri
culture and Fisheries projects, w hich is very insufficient. T his is the reaso n they have n o t im plem ented n ew program s but only continued im plem enting existing program s, w ith allocated bud gets already.
N evertheless, M ayor P alacios is very o p tim istic w ith the w a y th in g s are. She v o w s to d o ev ery th in g so the p eo p le of C u lasi can liv e com fortably. She k no w s they can m ake it because th ey are w orking hard. She b esto w ed this p arting w ord s for AQ D: “ I am still h oping for future togeth erness." ###
C oncrete artificial reefs in M alalison, p a r t of the
com m unity's CRM approach learned from SE A F D E C / AQD. This is an exam ple that n eighboring barangays wish to follow
SEAFDEC Asian Aquaculture V o l. XXI No. 6 December 1999 17
