00:00The fishermen in the Philippine's fishing capital, Navotas,
00:08risk losing their livelihoods because of the rising tide that is being pulled and demolished.
00:31How is your livelihood now, father?
00:36Nothing, nothing. We just lost everything.
00:43How do you feel, father, when you see the fishermen here in Laot?
00:47It's really painful, what they are stealing, our livelihood.
00:50Because just like now, we don't have anything to eat. Where are we going?
00:54Father went there because he wanted to help the fishermen.
00:59But now, we don't have anything.
01:01When the tide is low, we don't have anything.
01:05That's what we are really hoping for.
01:09That's why I'm sick.
01:12They say it's garbage, but it's not garbage.
01:14That's what we live on.
01:16That's what we eat.
01:21The daily struggle in life and the search for livelihood of the Navotas
01:29is in the hands of those who are caught and fed from the sea.
01:35Including the fish.
01:42From their fresh fish that was just caught from the sea,
01:48they invented all kinds of products.
01:52Steamed fish, gourmet fish, and even fish chips.
01:59But now, the Navotas fishermen are worried.
02:03Because the industry that has been living with them for generations,
02:07is now in danger of dying.
02:11Because their nets...
02:14You will notice the net.
02:16...are being pulled away one by one.
02:25It's really heartbreaking.
02:27Can you see that the livelihood is almost gone?
02:32All of this is being done under the guise of modernization and urbanization.
02:39In simple words, innovation.
02:42But their question is, what is innovation for?
02:46They will choose poverty more than our livelihood,
02:50those who will be poor.
02:51Everyone is hoping for that.
02:57How many nets were damaged here?
03:00Less than 5,000.
03:02How many families are affected by this?
03:05That's a lot.
03:07In the promise of prosperity and prosperity,
03:10why does their livelihood need to be destroyed?
03:17Navotas Fishing Club
03:24The nets are trash.
03:26Do you believe that?
03:28No!
03:30In our program, the demolition of the nets in Navotas happened.
03:36Our nets are being demolished.
03:38That's why this Thursday, I went to Navotas to discuss the issue.
03:44Navotas is the fishing capital of the Philippines
03:47because from the first time until now,
03:51the supply of fish from Metro Manila and other provinces is here.
03:57It is located in front of Manila Bay,
03:59and this is where the fishing boats pass by.
04:02Sixteen of the barangays here live off the net.
04:07They are looking for livelihoods that are now in danger due to the development.
04:12But the affected residents here ask,
04:15what about those like them who are small?
04:23One of the affected barangays is the barangay Sipak Almacen
04:28where on March 16, their nets were demolished.
04:34Navotas Fishing Club
04:39That's why we are shouting the call for the demolition of the nets.
04:42Fight, fight, don't let it be destroyed.
04:46That's why the residents are hotly protesting.
04:50Fight, fight, don't let it be destroyed.
04:53This is where I met Romel, one of the leaders of the fishermen.
04:58How many nets were destroyed here?
05:01According to the estimate, around 5,000.
05:04How many families are affected by this?
05:07That's around 1,000.
05:10They say that the nets are being used by the big fishermen.
05:18There are many residents in Navotas who rely on nets.
05:22They have fishermen or those who swim in the sea to catch the nets.
05:32Navotas Fishing Club
05:40When the net is removed,
05:43the fish are kicked to separate the nets.
05:50Then, the big fish are separated from the small ones.
05:54Then, the nets are sent to the place where the nets are sold.
05:59How many nets do you have?
06:01Around 500.
06:03Because of the removal of their nets last month,
06:08it has a big impact on their livelihood.
06:12It's a disaster for people like Jennifer.
06:15Why are you selling these nets?
06:19How is your livelihood now?
06:21It's not good.
06:22Last year, my husband was harvesting.
06:25We only had gasoline.
06:26Whatever we harvested, we gave it all to others.
06:29First, we clean the net.
06:31Jennifer used to earn from 30,000 to 40,000 pesos per month.
06:37But ever since their nets were destroyed,
06:40the net price has dropped.
06:42She used to earn from 30,000 to 40,000 pesos per month.
06:45But ever since their nets were destroyed,
06:48they have to get supplies from other places.
06:53That's why her income is only 10,000 pesos.
06:56What do you see as a remedy or solution to your situation now?
07:01I hope that we will be given a place for ourselves.
07:04Our industry is dead.
07:06That's where we live.
07:08It is said that the government will provide an alternative income for them.
07:13But that's not enough.
07:16In reality, we only earn 6,000 pesos in 10 days.
07:18What is the reality?
07:19You will leave for 10 days.
07:21In one day, you will earn 610 pesos.
07:24After two years, you can apply again.
07:26We don't just eat for 10 days.
07:28You can also borrow 5,000 to 10,000 pesos.
07:31That's all you can eat.
07:32Before they did that,
07:34they prepared a livelihood program for us.
07:37And they didn't pay a single peso.
07:40For other farmers,
07:42not only did they lose their livelihood,
07:44but also their lives.
07:46Like what happened to Ms. Lidia's husband, Rodrigo.
07:51Please tell me what happened to my father.
07:53On April 2, he passed away.
07:56When he was buried,
07:57he was seen with his cousin.
08:00He was buried under the ground.
08:02When they buried him,
08:03his ears and nose were covered with blood.
08:06They rushed him to Nabota Hospital.
08:08When they got there, he was gone.
08:10Ms. Lidia believes that her husband
08:13was too obsessed with the demolition of her house.
08:17What will happen to the house when it's gone?
08:19What will happen to me?
08:21That's what we were hoping for.
08:25I was sick.
08:27We were the only two left.
08:30I don't have anything to live for.
08:33What will happen to me now?
08:35My father went there
08:37because he wanted to help the farmers.
08:40He wanted to help them.
08:43But...
08:44I don't have anything left.
08:45I just want to help.
08:48I just want to give medicine.
08:51I just want to give medicine.
08:55We're going to Laot
08:57to see where my father's fields are planted.
09:06Tomorrow, the sea will turn into land.
09:10That's what they call a reclamation.
09:13Many years ago,
09:15it happened here in Manila Bay.
09:17But as time went by,
09:19it was reclaimed by the fishermen
09:22because they needed more land.
09:24But on the other side,
09:26the fishermen and those who live by the sea,
09:32they don't have the right to live
09:36that they've been doing for more than four decades.
09:40That's just how it is.
09:42One day, their fields will be cleared
09:46and it will become a reclaimed area
09:48just like what happened in the past.
09:54That's the rice field.
09:56Those are the memories of their fields.
09:59We've been through others,
10:01but none of them are clean
10:02because they've been reclaimed.
10:03These are the only ones left.
10:05It's said that more than 2,500 fields have been reclaimed.
10:11Only half of them are left.
10:14As they go around,
10:16they really caught the eye
10:22of the big cows in Laot.
10:26They are the ones who are reclaiming.
10:28Those are the two.
10:29What did they say to you?
10:30Why are you reclaiming?
10:31They said that they will clean the sea
10:33because it's dirty.
10:34How do you feel when you see the cows here in Laot?
10:38It's really painful
10:39that they are stealing our livelihood.
10:41Just like now,
10:42we don't know where we are going.
10:45In the past,
10:46Tatay Budoy had 370 cattle.
10:52Now, only 50 are left.
10:54How is your livelihood now, Tatay?
10:56Just like now,
10:57we don't have anything.
10:58We don't have anything left.
11:01How are you now?
11:02What are your plans?
11:03We don't have any income.
11:05We only depend on other people who live here.
11:11Sometimes,
11:12we can earn P400 or P500.
11:14It's just a small income.
11:16That's why Tatay Budoy
11:17is now relying on his wife's small sari-sari store.
11:22Suddenly,
11:23it's like a garbage.
11:26It's really painful
11:28because my children lived there.
11:32It's only the 1970s.
11:34It's a time to live
11:37and it's expected by the voters.
11:39The water from Manila Bay
11:41that flows through the length of the city
11:44has the right amount of salt or salinity
11:47that is good for the growth
11:50of a good type of fish.
11:52Maybe because of the level of pollution,
11:55like agricultural runoff,
11:57sewage,
11:58these nutrients are good for the fish
12:01that are fed by the fish.
12:03That's why the fish are thriving
12:05in polluted waters like Manila Bay.
12:09But the industry that has lived for half a century
12:14is now becoming polluted.
12:17In 2018,
12:19the PRA or the Philippine Reclamation Authority
12:24approved the NCBRP
12:26or the Navotas Coastal Bay Reclamation Project.
12:30More than 3,000 socialized housing
12:34or homes,
12:36parks,
12:38commercial establishments,
12:40tricycle and pedicab terminals,
12:43as well as organized vendor areas
12:46or families.
12:48This is what the residents are thinking
12:51about why the demolition of their homes
12:54is happening now.
12:58But just last year,
13:00President Bongbong Marcos Jr.
13:03stopped all the reclamation projects in Manila Bay
13:06including the NCBRP.
13:09The DENR or the Department of Environment
13:12and Natural Resources
13:14conducted a so-called cumulative impact assessment
13:18in Navotas
13:19to study the long-term effects
13:23of reclamation in the area.
13:27Ramdam,
13:28the big projects that are happening now,
13:33on my left,
13:34towards Bulacan,
13:36there is the new airport.
13:39On my right,
13:41towards Mall of Asia and Pasay,
13:44there is the extensive reclamation project.
13:47Aside from the previous government reclamation projects,
13:51through these projects,
13:54the residents are complaining
13:57about the demolition of their homes.
14:02Do they feel like they will be affected
14:05by these projects
14:07due to the demolition?
14:09One of the reclamation projects
14:12is the 60-year-old project
14:15that was built and built by Cheryl.
14:18How much are you building, Cheryl?
14:20This building is 47,000.
14:23If the building is 47,000,
14:25how much will you earn?
14:27I earned 126,000.
14:29That's for the whole 6 years.
14:31So it's more than doubling.
14:33Yes, yes.
14:34But because of the demolition,
14:37they are earning almost nothing.
14:40To tell you the truth,
14:42we haven't eaten for two days.
14:52One day,
14:53we didn't eat.
14:55We only ate for a year.
14:58In 2022,
14:59the Local Government Unit voted
15:03for the residents
15:05who will be affected by the project or the reclamation.
15:08The purpose is to pay
15:11the residents who will be affected.
15:14The people in City Hall said
15:16to go home
15:17because you won't be affected.
15:20According to the initial data,
15:23only the neighboring barangays,
15:25Barangay Tanza 1 and Tanza 2,
15:27will be affected by the NCBRP.
15:30Of course, I will be affected
15:32because I'm not a resident.
15:33But they were very surprised
15:35that this February,
15:37there was a notice
15:38that the demolition of Tahungan will be halved.
15:41So I was alarmed
15:44when we met.
15:47We need to postpone that
15:49because that's what the Supreme Court ordered me to do.
15:52The Manila Bay needs to be cleaned.
15:54Cheryl is talking about
15:56the 2008 Supreme Court writ of mandamus
15:59that said the Manila Bay needs to be cleaned
16:02so that it can be used as a swimming pool
16:05and a leisure area.
16:08These are the reasons
16:10why the NCBRP or the reclamation project was postponed.
16:15I think there's a project.
16:17The whole area is empty.
16:18That's why we're being asked to leave.
16:20It's very painful for us
16:22because it's a big project
16:25but it was just removed like that.
16:30How big is the Tahungan that was destroyed?
16:33It's already big.
16:34You can see the Tahungan from here to there.
16:38When we moved here,
16:40what's left are the ones on the side.
16:43It's not a lot of money.
16:47We've been in dialogue several times
16:50but we didn't get a good answer for us.
16:54It's hard for us.
16:55It's making it harder for us.
16:58Then they told us
17:00in our last dialogue on the 26th
17:02to accept it even if it's painful.
17:05They said it's trash.
17:06It's not trash.
17:07That's where we live.
17:10That's where we eat.
17:13Cheryl is even saddened
17:15because it's illegal to consider their Tahungan
17:19as compensation or damages that can be accepted.
17:24It's not like their neighbor Dodie
17:27who in 2022
17:29when she found out that her Tahungan
17:31was included in the project's expenses,
17:34she immediately agreed
17:36and received a compensation of 3 million pesos.
17:41I didn't have anything to do
17:42so I just accepted a small amount.
17:43The compensation that Dodie received
17:46was used to start a new Tahungan in Bulacan.
17:50It's not enough to give me that amount of money.
17:53First of all, we can't catch them.
17:55There's no way for the fish to swim
17:57so we're all tied up.
17:58We tried to get a statement
18:01from the local government unit of Navotas
18:03about the demolition of the Tahungan
18:05that was being protested by the fishermen
18:08but they didn't go ahead.
18:10Instead, they gave a statement.
18:13We made several dialogues
18:16to talk to the owners of the Tahungan
18:20and explain the laws that we're following
18:23regarding the maintenance of Manila Bay.
18:26In 2022, we didn't receive
18:29any business permit application
18:31before or after the renewal.
18:33In other words, starting in 2022,
18:35all the Tahungan and Paklad in Manila Bay
18:39that were included in Navotas
18:40are now illegal and running without a permit.
18:43In 2022, there were also a series of dialogues
18:47with the affected owners
18:49because of their concerns
18:51and as a consideration of the hardship
18:53they went through because of the pandemic.
18:56We gave them a chance to settle
18:59and after that, they will voluntarily
19:01remove the so-called structures.
19:04They said that they inherited
19:06an alternative income
19:08from the affected residents.
19:10As part of our programs,
19:13we will provide free Navobanka,
19:15entrance to Tupad,
19:17free test and skills training,
19:19employment assistance or livelihood grant,
19:21and job referrals to companies.
19:23In total, the operation of the Paklad and Tahungan
19:26has been illegal for three years.
19:28We gave the owners all the opportunities
19:31to get their employment back
19:33and because there was no tax paid,
19:36they earned a lot from this
19:38over time.
19:40But instead of decreasing,
19:42the number of Paklad and Tahungan increased.
19:45We have a permit until 2022.
19:47We will renew it.
19:48They said that the bank is no longer renewing.
19:51When it is said that it is illegal,
19:52there will be a demolition of their Tahungan.
19:55That is a valid exercise of the LGU.
20:00Our state has an obligation
20:03to take care of their employees.
20:05They really have the right
20:07to get the legal assistance for them.
20:11If they have concerns about the reclamation project,
20:14they can write us as a regulator.
20:16We will verify it on the ground and at the LGU.
20:19We, being the regulator of reclamation projects,
20:22if there is a violation,
20:23we can issue them a cease and desist order,
20:26notice of violation,
20:28and eventually, we can suspend their activity.
20:31The Tahong are considered as filter feeders
20:34because they actually filter out the pollution.
20:37They have this ability to improve the water quality.
20:40In order to solve this problem,
20:42it is better to regulate the number of structures
20:45instead of totally demolishing all of the Tahungan there.
20:49The reclamation project has an irreversible impact.
20:51First, the fisheries,
20:54and there are various marine ecosystems
20:56that have severe dredging.
20:58Even if the remaining corral frontier of Manila Bay is destroyed,
21:02since 2021,
21:03when the dredging and reclamation started in Manila Bay,
21:06around 80% to 90% of the total production
21:09of our fisheries was lost in Manila Bay.
21:11We call for the cessation of the reclamation
21:14and other projects in our coastal areas
21:17so that we can ensure the food supply
21:19and sustainable supply of the Filipino people.
21:22I hope that the demolition will be stopped first.
21:25Let the Tahong continue
21:27so that the industry of the Tahong will continue.
21:29If we are lost in the sea,
21:30we will not be left behind.
21:32If we are removed from the water, we will die.
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