By AMIEL MARK CAGAYAN

BEHIND the horrors of kidnappings that put Tawi-Tawi in the headlines, there’s a lot of beauty to discover in the island province.

Nestled in the lush forests with a full view of the endless sea is barangay Batu-Batu, in the municipality of Panglima Sugala.

Blessed with abundant natural resources, the people thrive on the produce of the sea and their farmlands.

Barter trade, the ancient system method of commercial transaction where in which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money, is still very much alive in Batu-Batu. Saturdays, people flock to the market, including those from nearby islands to trade.

The town of Panglima Sugala is a unique crucible of culture. Of the  50,000 population, 99 per cent are Muslims and only one percent are Christians. The Muslims generally are from the Tausug tribe while the Christians are a mixture of Visayan, Ilonggos, Ilocanos and Bicolanos.

There is deep respect in matters of faith among the people of Panglima Sugala. It’s not unusual to see Muslims join in the religious celebrations of the Christian minority. In Christian fiestas, the Muslims not only take part in the festivities but also take part in the Christian rituals.

It’s a sight to see a Muslim carrying a Sto. Niño while dancing gaily to the beat of the drums.

Visitors to the place can only wish that the world would be better if everybody would have that open-minded spirituality practiced by the people of  Panglima Sugala and Batu-Batu.

Text, photos and video by VINCENT GO 

A CULTURAL  regeneration program held recently at Manabayukan Village in Capas, Tarlac brought together Aeta communities from several villages in the province to strengthen their cultural bonds and preserve their identity and indigenous way of life.

Spearheaded by the Holy Spirit Aeta Mission of the College of the Holy Spirit at San Sebastian in Tarlac City, the program is part of the school’s mission to organize and empower indigenous communities and to help them secure their ancestral domain.

The Aetas are among the earliest known inhabitants of the Philippine archipelago, believed to have traveled by land bridges in historic times. Most of them settled in the provinces around Mt. Pinatubo and lived a nomadic way life, surviving by foraging and hunting, and depending on nature to provide them with everything they needed. They believe in the supreme creator and the spirits of the forest and that bad things fall on those who do not respect nature and the environment.

In June 1991, Mt. Pinatubo erupted, hitting the reclusive Aeta communities who thought it was the end of the world when day turned into night and ashes started to cover everything. Family members were separated or perished in the devastation, what little livestock they had disappeared, and the forest that nurtured their existence burned or was destroyed by pyroclastic lahar deposits.

This disaster forced Aeta communities into relocation, exposed to lowland culture, and alienated in a system where money was everything. Living in a constrained area of land proved to be very hard for the Aetas who are used to the free spirited way of the forest. Some of the Aetas became laborers doing menial jobs while others resorted to begging in the streets to survive in the lowlands. Others longed to go back home to the mountains.

It took several years for the Aeta people to be able to resettle back in the land they once knew, only to find lowlanders taking advantage of their miseries. Plantations, mining, logging and tour companies had moved into their domain, making it harder for them to preserve their culture. Outsiders also failed to properly compensate them for the encroachment.

To this day Aeta elders believe that the Mt. Pinatubo eruption was a sign of anger and displeasure from their anito (deity) because people failed to respect nature and the environment.

The cultural regeneration program is their way of returning to their roots and at the same time building their capacity to respond to the pressures on the community.

First, as regard the nature of impeachment, with all due respect to all those who have stated their different opinions, I have also researched extensively on the subject and I am convinced that it is a political process with a judicial character. It is where the public participates through their representatives in the formulation of a public policy to resolve a policy issue of whether the conviction or acquittal of Chief Justice Renato Corona is in the best interest of the country.

I agree that it is a class of its own; but in my own personal experience, it is akin to one of the most sacred traditions in the Philippine Military Academy which is the Honor Committee Trial. It is where a cadet who is accused of violating the tenets of the Honor Code is tried by a jury of eight members of the Honor Committee, and only a unanimous vote of guilty can convict an accuse. The only difference I can see with this impeachment trial is we don’t have brilliant lawyers like the ones performing before us, and it is the reason why we don’t have technicalities in our attempt to ferret out the truth. Again, then again, that is in a laboratory setting.
Secondly, as to the standard of proof, as a former soldier, Navy officer, I will not even venture into defining and distinguishing between what is proof beyond reasonable doubt and substantial evidence because that is well within the expertise of my more seasoned colleagues. But what I do know and what I will apply in this impeachment trial is the basic sense of justice that God has given by every human being born in this planet.

Lastly, as regards the issue raised by Senator Chiz Escudero as to whether the acts committed by the Chief Justice prior to his appointment in the Supreme Court should be covered in this trial, my position is yes. We should cover them all because I believe part of what we’re trying to find out in this trial is the moral fitness of the Chief Justice to remain in office. Being a justice of the Supreme Court is different from being an elected public official in the sense that elected officials are subjected to periodic election to renew their mandate. So you can have the worst possible moral record but once you are elected into public office, it is presumed that the public already accepted your past and probably they voted for you for other qualities. But the justices of the Supreme Court, whose principal mandate is to administer justice to every citizen of this republic, should possess the highest possible moral standards for public officials.

“Spotters,” or men in charge of looking around and confirming a butanding sighting, position themselves on top of the boats to get a clearer view of the open sea. Photo by Amer Amor

By AMER R. AMOR

FOURTEEN years after the discovery of a large pod of whale sharks or butanding in Donsol, Sorsogon, people around the world continue to troop to this small fishing town in southern Luzon to swim with the whale sharks from December until May.

Once an unknown fishing village, Donsol now takes pride in being referred to as the “Whale Shark Capital of the World.” The Lonely Planet Guidebook describes the Donsol experience as the “quintessential Philippine adventure.” In 2004, Time Magazine called swimming with whale sharks the “Best Animal Encounter in Asia.”

These accolades ensure the steady arrival of tourists, which has helped transform Donsol from a fourth-class town to a third-class town that houses numerous resorts, dive shops and other businesses.

“A lot of people’s livelihoods here changed because of the whale sharks,” said Omar Nepumuceno, one of the original 28 people trained in 1998 by World Wildlife Fund for Nature Philippines (WWF-Phil) to become butanding interaction officers (BIO). “Aside from my earnings, I am able to make friends with guests all over the world and I am able to further the cause of saving the butanding.”

For Demetria Aviso, a mother of two who works as a housekeeper in one of the resorts, the presence of the whale sharks has helped alleviate her family’s condition, albeit on a seasonal basis. Before the tourism boom, Herrera was a housewife while her husband was a farmer. The money she now earns during the whale shark season not only helps defray the family’s day-to-day expenses but also goes into her savings.

Whale sharks, known to grow to up to 18 meters long and weigh up to 40 tons, are highly migratory and find a home in Donsol from December until May when planktons, which they feed on, are abundant in the waters of this town. This is the time Donsol comes to life.

According to the WWF-Phil, the highest number of whale sharks recorded in a day in Donsol is 18, sighted during the 2009 whale shark season. Since 2007, WWF-Phil has identified 356 whale sharks in Donsol through its photo-identification process.

From January to June and November to December last year, 25,174 tourists visited Donsol to see the whale sharks. Of this number, 12,390 were foreigners. 2011 also saw the most number of recorded tours at 5,141, generating almost P6 million in income for Donsol’s local government. In 2000, the town recorded only 286 tours.

In Donsol, tourists pay P3,500 for a three-hour tour. The amount covers boat rental and fees for the BIO and the spotter, the person assigned to look for the whale shark. Five percent of this amount goes to the local government, along with the registration fees that tourists pay on top of the tour cost. These registration fees are pegged at P100 for Filipino guests and P300 for foreigners.

When it started in 1998, tourists could roam the waters of Donsol in search of whale sharks at their own will, but with the arrival of more tourists each year, the Municipal Tourism Center has had to limit the number of hours of interaction.

But more than the economic gain that goes with the project, nongovernmental and people’s organizations have been organized at the grassroots level, said whale shark researcher Elson Aca.

Donsol’s Butanding Interaction Officers Association (BOAA), Butanding Boat Operators Association (BBOA) and the Homeowners and Beach Resorts Operators Association regularly meet with the Department of Tourism Region V, Municipal Tourism Office of Donsol and WWF-Phil to discuss problems and improve tourism in Donsol.

However, 14 years into its ecotourism industry, the town still faces some of the problems it had in the past.

Although Donsol’s whale shark tour has improved since its hurried beginning, Aca warned that more than the infrastructural development in the area, Donsol has to strongly enforce tour regulations to continue conserving the whale shark.

“The boats are all accredited and they now have a registration center which makes the tours organized in a way. They have an empowered people’s organizations and we can see the distribution of income among guides, boat operators and other stakeholders,” he said. “But Donsol has to properly, and strictly, implement its interaction policies such as the one boat per one whale shark. Overcrowding (of boats) is one concern that they have to address in Donsol.”

Executive Order 23, S-2009 allows only 30 boats to search the waters of Donsol at any given time to avoid crowding of boats and swimmers on whale sharks. The order directs the implementation of the whale shark interaction code of conduct, which includes a maximum of six swimmers per whale shark, only one boat per whale shark, and no touching or riding of whale sharks.

But the whale shark interaction code of conduct has been violated time and again.

Clara Kerpes, a German traveler who swam with the whale sharks in Donsol in May last year, said that although her group was able to see eight whale sharks in one tour, “it was too crowded.”

Australian tourist Mervyn Tan, a guest in April last year, said that at one point during the tour, “it felt like a frenzy with many boatloads of tourists fighting to see one single whale shark.”

Canada’s Alastair Hopper, who considers his trip to Donsol to swim with the whale sharks right at the top of the best things he did while in the Philippines for nine months, said the government should “be able to control the tourists who want to see the whale sharks.”

“A lot of tourists have already expressed concern regarding overcrowding, and they feel that the welfare of the whale sharks is not being prioritized anymore. Some tourists feel that the satisfaction of guests has prevailed over the conservation of the whale sharks. This is a sad thing considering that Donsol started out strongly on the conservation aspect of the program,” said Aca.

Czech nationals Mark and Agatha, who went to see the whale sharks of Donsol last Jan. 6, admitted that they did not know that the tours have been organized in order to save the whale sharks, noting how the entire tour appeared like a “commercial activity” to them.

“It would be nice if the guides could tell us about the history of the program, so we’d also feel strongly about them, that we are also doing something great for the environment,” said Agatha.

Nepomuceno and Allan Amanse, the country’s most experienced BIO, recognize the need to address the issue on overcrowding as it affects everyone involved in the tours, the whale sharks foremost.

“If we try to satisfy every tourist who comes here, everyone will be harassed in the process. The BIOs are stressed out having to go on too many tours in a day, the tourists also have to compete among one another, and the whale sharks would have to deal with a lot of this noise,” said Amanse.

Said Aca: “If you know that there (are) a lot of tourists and the whale sharks are not enough to ensure that the one boat per one whale shark or the six persons per one whale shark rule will be observed, why do you have to keep on arranging trips for that?”

He also said the tourism office tends to panic when tourists’ demands go out of hand and easily give in even when the office should be in control. Donsol Tourism Officer Nenita Pedragosa, whose office oversees the technical aspect of the whale shark operations, refused to comment on the matter.

According to Jayrick Mendiola, one of the tourism office’s receptionists, efforts to address overcrowding are taken. He admits that the crowd can really get out of control, especially during Holy Week, Donsol’s peak season.

Through the initiative of WWF-Phil, a whale shark interaction tour website will be put up by February, so tourists can book and reserve a tour online. “Tourists can check over the Internet the dates in which there are still slots for the whale shark tours. In this way, they can also plan their stay accordingly and avoid coming to town on dates that the tours are already full,” said Mendiola.

Only half of the total allowed trips in a day can be booked online to accommodate walk-in tourists. But Mendiola was quick to add that the tourism office is also working on improving other attractions in Donsol, so the guests can make good use of their time if they fail to make it to the day’s allowed number of trips.

Aside from snorkeling with the whale shark, tourists in Donsol can go on a river cruise and firefly-watching tours, as well on an island-hopping trip in nearby Masbate. There is also a backyard tour in one of the villages in Donsol where tourists, especially foreigners, can learn and enjoy how to ride a carabao and dance the Pantomina, a popular Bicol folk dance, among others.

Mendiola said the briefing of tourists will also be beefed up this season. The tourism office has assigned an enclosed area to ensure that even when the crowd gets out of hand at the reception area, tourists are assured they know what the tour is all about.

“Most of the time, we are fortunate to have guests who understand the entire process and they even come up to us and let us know if there were parts of the interaction that have been violated while they were on tour. Properly briefing them does one part of the job, but the other part of the action is out there in the sea,” said Mendiola.

He recalls an incident when a guest took a picture of a BIO who not just touched the whale shark, but also tried to carry the whale shark on his back. The tourist reported the incident to the tourism office, which suspended the BIO for five rotations of boat trips.

Amanse and Nepomuceno are both aware that there are BIOs who allow their guests to touch the whale sharks, hoping that they would get a bigger tip out of it. “It’s sad, but it is true. Everyone here knows it is wrong, but some have simply forgotten what they are here for in the first place,” lamented Amanse.

Amanse, who headed the Butanding Interaction Officers Association from 1998 to 2010, said his organization is working on self-regulation so it could impose punishment on guests who disregard the rules.

Nepomuceno usually punishes guests caught touching the whale shark by bringing them back to the shore, but the tourism office would allow the same guests to take another trip. “That is disappointing on my end, considering that I try to abide by the rules,” he said.

Mendiola, however, said guests who were reprimanded for touching the whale sharks are only allowed to take on another trip the next day, after they pledge they would no longer touch the whale sharks.

The Assessment of the Butanding Interaction Tours Report, a survey conducted by the WWF-Phil among guests who took the whale shark tours last year, shows the ratings of the tourism office, BIOs, boat and crew, and the visitor center, although still good, have dropped. Overall, the rating of Donsol’s whale shark tours went from 4.17 in 2010 to 3.80 in 2011.

Raul Burce, WWF-Phil program manager in Donsol, said a values formation seminar was conducted last year for the 41 BIOs to remind them the more important responsibility that goes with the job: the protection and conservation of the whale sharks.

“Donsol should really be challenged with the presence of the whale sharks in Oslob. They have to be reminded of the reason they have the whale shark interaction tour in the first place. It is really a challenge to Donsol now to properly enforce their laws,” said Aca.

Max Mutschler, a German tourist who swam with the whale sharks of Donsol in June last year, said he will recommend the tour to his friends if Donsol proves that it is really willing to protect the butanding in the long run.

“It is really about time that we go back to ensuring the protection of the whale sharks,” said Amanse. “We will put everything to waste if we don’t act on it now.”

(Disclosure: Amor’s family owns the Amor Farm Beach Resort in Donsol.)

It was an image Butanding Interaction Officer (BIO) Allan Amanse swears he will remember for the rest of his life.

A 28-year-old fisherman had joined him swim with a whale shark, the world’s largest fish, off the waters of Pamilacan Island in Bohol. The fisherman saw how the whale shark, popularly called butanding, glided gently beside Amanse and marveled at the fascinating bond between them. The fisherman, recalling how he would join his father hunt for whale sharks when he was only seven, wept upon realizing there is a better way of coexisting with the gentle giants of the deep.

“When I saw that fisherman cry after we swam with the whale sharks, the more that I wanted to continue with my job. I didn’t know I have a chance to change other people’s lives, too,” he said.

Amanse, the country’s most experienced BIO, thanks the abundance of whale sharks in Donsol, Sorsogon from December to May for the kind of life he now lives. The once sleepy fishing village has become known as the “Whale Shark Capital of the World.”

Amanse’s work as a BIO requires him to not only be a guide to guests participating in Donsol’s Whale Shark Interaction Tour, a project that aims to conserve whale sharks through ecotourism, but to also extend concern over the environment.

Amanse has been invited too many times to speak in tourism fairs and conduct workshops on proper whale shark interaction around the Philippines. In 2009 the Ayala Foundation sent him to Bohol to train fishermen to interact with whale sharks.

Whale sharks used to be poached in the waters of Pamilacan Island in the early 1990s. It was a lucrative business in the Visayas, as whale shark meat and fins commanded a high price in the Taiwanese market.

Then came the discovery of a large pod of whale sharks in Donsol in 1998, which led to the signing of Fisheries Administrative Order 193 (FAO 193) that made it unlawful to catch, sell, buy, possess, transport and export whale sharks and manta rays in the country.

A whale sharks swims too close to the banca in Oslob, Cebu, at the expense of its safety. Photo by Elson Aca

The killing has stopped since, thanks to the growing effort to conserve the whale sharks, in general, and Donsol’s ecotourism program, in particular.

That is why news of whale sharks being fed, touched and treated as pets in the fishing village of Tan-awan, Oslob in Southern Cebu alarmed Amanse and other environmentalists and whale shark conservation experts. A photograph published by The Daily Mail in London in December even showed a local fisherman riding a whale shark, known in Cebu as tuki.

“Whale sharks are really amazing animals. They are very gentle. But people should remember that they are wildlife animals and feeding them could pose more harm than good,” said Amanse, who was president of Donsol’s Butanding Interaction Officers Association from 1998 to 2010.

Elson Aca, one of the most experienced whale shark researchers in the country, went to Oslob in December on the invitation of a television network and described the whale shark feeding and petting in the Cebu town a “disaster waiting to happen.”

“The fishermen touch the whale sharks the way humans would pet a dog. They should be aware of precautionary principles that when they feed the whale sharks, that could alter their behavior and could have a harmful effect on them. Now it appears like the whale sharks are begging the fishermen to feed them whenever they see the boats approaching,” said Aca, who has been in and out of Donsol since 2004, first as a researcher for an independent whale shark research group until he served as World Wildlife Fund for Nature Philippines (WWF-Phil) program manager in Donsol from 2007 to 2009.

But fisherman and Tan-awan barangay kagawad James Marimat explained that the practice of feeding the whale sharks was not forced on the animals but was incidental.

Uyap (small or brine shrimps) abound in the area, and fishermen use them as bait. “A lot of us have observed that we weren’t able to fish anymore because a whale shark started to feed on uyap July last year. Until more whale sharks came. To divert their attention so we could continue fishing, we would take them out of the area by feeding them uyap in other parts of the sea,” said Marimat who estimates at least 10 whale sharks are in Oslob.

The practice of feeding the whale sharks for tourists to see started in September when a fisherman led a whale shark in front of a diving shop in Oslob, said Tan-awan barangay captain Faustini Huder. Korean guests had a field day having their pictures taken with the creature. By December, tourists were flocking to Tan-awan not just to witness the feeding, but also to swim and have their pictures taken with the whale sharks.

In January, the local government of Oslob came up with Ordinance 091-S12, which provides measures on the protection and conservation of whale sharks. Before that, a private resort managed the whale shark feeding tour, charging tourists P200 for paddleboat rental and P100 for resort entrance. Now tourists pay P300 each, P180 of which goes to the boatman, P90 to the municipality of Oslob and P30 to the barangay of Tan-awan.

Fishermen in Oslob feed the whale sharks with uyap from 6 a.m. up to 1 p.m., so tourists can have a look and swim with them. A visit to Barangay Tan-awan this January showed the whale sharks going after the boats when fishermen, known as whale shark feeders, dangle the small shrimps.

“If these whale sharks get used to approaching boats, they can be seen as a threat by fishermen in other places who do not know what whale sharks are, and when their act of approaching the boat is seen as an aggressive behavior by these fishermen, that’s alarming,” said Aca. “What’s worse is when they approach boats in areas where whale sharks are seen as a resource or food. They can get killed easily.”

Darren Whitehead, a whale shark researcher from the United Kingdom who worked as a volunteer for WWF-Philippines’ whale shark photo-tagging project in Donsol last year, saw the photographs in The Daily Mail.

He said the feeding activity is a “potential time bomb ready to explode” and observed that the Cebu fishermen appear like they do not see the long-term effects of their actions.

“Hand feeding the whale sharks in itself creates a level one problem by attracting the whale sharks to the boat as they relate the boats to easy food. Secondly, the image of a fisherman riding the whale shark is not the best example of the encounter codes they want to enforce,” said Whitehead, who is now doing whale shark research in Djibouti in Africa.

During Aca’s visit in Oslob, in which he was able to identify nine whale sharks through photo-tagging, he saw tourists feed the whale sharks themselves, further aggravating the situation.

Huder, however, maintains that only the fishermen who are called whale shark feeders should be allowed to feed the animals, as stipulated in their Whale Sharks 10 Commandments. It also prohibits the touching of whale sharks whether by hand, foot, or camera, as well as blocking whale sharks’ path leading to the fishermen’s boat.

But tourists could not refrain from touching the whale sharks. They also want to have their pictures taken and get too close, even after being briefed on the do’s and don’ts of interacting with whale sharks. Done in less than five minutes, the briefing takes place in a makeshift tent by the beach.

On Jan. 17, from 7 to 8 a.m., this writer witnessed at least three incidents where tourists touched whale sharks. While some fishermen stop tourists from doing so, Huder admits that they lack a stronger way of enforcing their rules.

Roy Lagahid, a 16-year-old feeder, said the whale sharks are actually safe in Oslob since fishermen take care of them. “We don’t know how other people would treat them in other places. They might get killed there,” he said.

Reacting to observations that some whale sharks were wounded when they bumped into boats that fed them, Lagahid said the wounds were a result of the whale sharks bumping into rocks when they scour for food at night during low tides.

Boatman Santiago Llego, who started fishing as a child, is thankful that the whale sharks are able to attract tourists to their town and is confident that through proper management of these animals, the whale sharks would not have to leave anymore.

“It is a good source of income compared to fishing,” said Llego, who explained that his earnings for a night of fishing could sometimes only buy a kilo of rice for his family.

Rico Durens, one of the 14 whale shark feeders in one of the two resorts that host the tour, said their earnings vary every day but could reach P900, a big leap from the P400 they make from fishing the entire night.

This early, small businesses have emerged in the area where the briefing tent is located. Life vests are rented out for P20 to P30, while stalls sell food and beverage. Two private resorts accommodate tourists who want to take a bath after swimming with the whale sharks. These resorts have their own boatmen who take the guests out to sea.

Although not yet a problem, Huder is aware that the setup of the two resorts can eventually pose a problem, especially since the boatmen and whale shark feeders from the two resorts have “divided” the sea into two to avoid overcrowding. (To be concluded)

(Disclosure: Amor’s family owns the Amor Farm Beach Resort in Donsol. )

Editorial cartoon by VINCENT GO

Prosecuting the accused in an impeachment trial is no walk in the park, and it took Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago to drive home that point.

Absent for the entire first week of the trial due to illness, she showed up on Day 5 and more than made up for her absence by grilling the opposing sides like the trial judge she once was.

On her questioning, Santiago managed to elicit the information that the prosecution had no idea how many witnesses they had lined up for all eight articles of impeachment, and no idea how many documents they were to present. Compared to the defense, which had the information at their fingertips, the prosecution looked ill prepared and clueless.

“You should even have a trial brief,” she told lead prosecutor Niel Tupas Jr., who did not even deny the absence of such a brief.

Santiago’s questioning reminds the prosecution an impeachment is not a trial won by publicity or end-of-the-day press conference, but a trial that will be won by reason, logic, evidence and experience.