Manila Standard Today
12/13/2007
Lying at the south western part of Central Luzon is one of the country’s prime historical destinations, Bataan.
During World War II, Bataan was the last standing territory of American and Filipino soldiers before the country succumbed to the Japanese forces.
The monuments and markers conceal yet another paradise; the town of Morong, farthest among the 12 municipalities of Bataan is a sanctuary not only for humans but also for turtles.
For many years now, the sleepy town of Morong has been the breeding ground for two kinds of marine turtles, the Olive Ridley and the Hawksbill.
What started as a humble effort of some fishermen and farmers along with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement and the Bantay Kalikasan, to save endangered marine turtles in 1999, is now a huge yearly celebration attracting both foreign and local tourists.
The Pawikan Festival is marked with the ceremonial release of baby turtles into the sea, led by public officials of the province of Bataan.
Caring for the pawikans
Several years before, the marine conversation group Bantay Kalikasan came to Morong. Fishermen and farmers of the coastal community of Nagbalayong have been harvesting pawikan’s eggs for income and for food. The eggs were gathered from its shallow sand dug out in the coastal area and sold at P10 a piece.
Meanwhile, the adult pawikans, chanced upon by fishermen, were also caught and sold, believing sea turtles meat is an aphrodisiac.
In 1999, during a meeting with the environment department, PRRM and Bantay Kalikasan, the issue of egg poaching and pawikan killings was unexpectedly raised.
Struck by the realization of losing this endangered species for good, Bantay Kalikasan and the concerned fishermen and farmers collaborated to protect the pawikan, which led to the formation of Bantay Pawikan Inc., a people’s organization composed of volunteers and the people who used to poach and catch the marine turtles. Struggling in their early years, because of limited resources, the efforts of Bantay Pawikan didn’t remain unrecognized.
In 2001, the United Nations Development Program allotted funding for the organization. Shortly, the Pawikan Conservation Center was established in Nagbalayong, strengthening their advocacy to save the marine turtles from extinction.
The sacrifice of the fisher folks, in giving up one of their major sources of income was rewarded in 2005 when the Japanese Embassy under Ambassador Ryuichiro Yamazaki awarded US$52,311 to Bantay Pawikan Inc.
The money was used to buy rescue boat and assorted fishing equipment for Lambaklad fishing as well as the construction of a storage facility. A year after, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of the United Arab Emirates, took an interest in the struggle of the Bantay Pawikan Inc., when he saw it over an international television. Also the head of the Emirates Heritage Club, a project that protects and conserves national treasures, culture and heritage of UAE, the sheikh sent over some of his staff to the Philippines to propose a partnership between the two organizations.
Through the said partnership, members of the Bantay Pawikan Inc. take turns in going to UAE, in the areas occupied by Zackum Development Co., one of the biggest oil companies in UAE, to initiate the same program being implemented in Nagbalayong, since it has the same coastal features as UAE and is also a nesting ground for marine turtles. These job opportunities earned them more than what they used to get while trading pawikan eggs.
Sanctuary for the Magbikin
Up in the mountains of Morong, about a 15-to 25-minute trek to Sitio Kanawan in Barangay Binaritan, is another Philippine indigenous that is nearing extinction, the Magbikin Tribe, who were of Aeta descent. To reach the village of the Magbikins, one has to cross a wooden hanging bridge with a scenic view of a river and a valley which offers a cool diversion from the city’s concrete jungle and traffic jam. Life has been cruel for this tribe of 400 families.
During the conversion of some 25,400 hectares of the Morong forest in 1945 into Bataan Natural Park, this tribe was displaced of the home they freely roam for hundreds of years. While resettled in Sitio Lemon, the Vietnam War broke out and the place was converted into the Philippine Refugee Processing Center and the Magbikin Tribe yet again transferred locations. But finally, their current settlement in Sitio Kanawan was declared a Negrito reservation area assured them of a permanent forest to call home.
“We are free in the mountains. If the forest is lost, we will be gone, too,” said Belinda Ristom, one of the tribe’s elders. True enough, the mountain is their main source of livelihood. When not hunting for games or fruits, some of them serve as tourist guide for the locals and foreigners who want to take a swim in the nearby Kairukan and Tambangan Falls.
The lucky tribe members who were able to get sufficient education are working in the environment department or in Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. They also plant crops including kamote and palay in the fertile mountains of Morong. Despite the daily struggle, most of them don’t want to leave Sitio Kanawan.
As Josefina Alejo, tribal captain puts it, “We are ok here.” True to their symbolic tribal clothes, in red which symbolized war and courage, and white for the purity of their souls, the Magbikin Tribe would remain unfazed with the constant and rather harsh change in their lifestyle.
A welcome change
Meanwhile in the adjacent Bataan Technology Park Inc., about 10 minutes ride away from Sitio Kanawan, welcomes developmental changes in its technopark.
According to retired Armed Forces Commo. Amado Sanglay, administrator of BTPI, they are leasing parts of what used to be a refugee camp, to some Korean investors willing to invest some $400 million for a world-class 36-hole golf course in the area. “We saw the potential of tourism rather than the agri-aqua culture for the BTPI so we are shifting our priorities to tourism,” said Sanglay. Part of their plan is to develop the BTPI as retiree’s destination, with construction of more club houses, villa and hotels as well as extreme adventure facilities, set at a three- to five-year plan.
They also collaborated with SBMA to include BTPI in their tourism package. BTPI used to be home for almost 400,00 refugees from Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. Going around BTPI, you could still see some monuments erected during the time that refuges are taking turns in seeking asylum in the island of Bataan.
Among these are a miniature Angkor Wat, two Buddhist temples, That Luang, Bayone, Khmer and Vietnamese Monuments. Even the original boat used by the Vietnamese refugees in their escape is preserved in the museum along with some photographs, and momentums of Philippines’ assistant to the refugees before their resettlement to Australia, United States and Europe.
As drizzles marks the approaching evening, our bed in one of the rooms in Bataan White Corals Beach Resort and Hotel has been an inviting refuge for our tired bodies. But our souls and our dreams will always lead us back into the sedating surroundings of Morong, Bataan, where nature and its preservation is most important to each and every citizen.
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