Poverty no hindrance to fisher’s aspirations

CEBU, Philippines - Since he was 13 years old, Diosdado Legaspino has engaged in small-scale fishing in the waters off Bantayan town, Cebu, to sustain his family's basic needs after his father suffered an illness and became incapable of working.

Now 54, Legaspino is proud to announce that the same occupation has supported the studies of his six children, three of whom are already professionals, and also opened opportunities for him in the fishery industry.

Legaspino, who only finished Grade 1, was designated by Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-7 to sit as the fisherfolk director for a month, overseeing the programs and projects of the agency implemented in the Central Visayas.

He was one of four fisherfolks picked to assume as provincial fisherfolk directors by BFAR-7 for them to have a clearer picture on how the system works in the agency, said Dr. Allan Poquita, the assistant regional director of BFAR-7.

Tapping fisherfolks to work as the agency’s officials was one of the initiatives pushed by BFAR-7 for the Farmers and Fisherfolk Month this May with the theme, “Mangingisdang Director para sa Matatag na Balikatan.”

“Most of the time, they are going around the region or the provinces to see all the projects being implemented by BFAR-7 so that they would know what the BFAR-7 officials are doing and how we implement projects through our target programs,” he said.

Together with other assigned fisherfolks, Legaspino’s stint ended yesterday with the closing of the month-long celebration. He was also duly recognized for his active participation.

Legaspino was discovered by BFAR-7 through his unique strategy on aquaculture through fish caging that is now being adopted by other fishermen in other towns in Central Visayas.

Before he was recognized in the fishery sector, Legaspino said he had quite the struggle as young when they used to live in a shanty in the coastal area in Barangay Sulangan, Bantayan town.

Due to financial constraints, Legaspino was not able to graduate from elementary level while his other eight siblings also did not reach high school.

“Sa kalisod sa among panginabuhi, among ginikanan wala g’yud nakapalampos namo. Akong mga igsuon maora gyud nakahuman ug mga elementary graduate,” he said.

“Sa tinuod, wala ko kahuman og Grade 2 pero wala ko kawad-i sa paglaum. Akong gi-focus ang akong panahon sa pagpaningkamot sa panagat,” he said.

After his father became physically incapable of working, Legaspino stopped from schooling and started fishing to help his parents. He travelled to Metro Manila when he was a teenager hoping that he could find a decent job with a high salary so that he could raise his family from poverty.

He said he worked in a construction site but decided to return to Bantayan town after six months since he was earning less compared to fishing.

“Ang akong nakita sa panarbaho, maayo ra g’yud ang may kurso ug may nahuman sa kolehiyo,” said Legaspino.

He went back to fishing in his hometown and eventually got married. To support the income of his new family, he decided to focus on adopting fishing strategies that would make his job efficient and cost-effective.

He said hard work and determination, coupled with righteous behavior, are qualities needed to succeed in life.

“Sa akong panagat,  naka kwestiyon ko usahay kon molambo ba kaha ko pero naningkamot lang gyud ko. Sa akong paningkamot, nakatigom ko ug nakapalit og akoang pump boat nga mao nay nisuportasa among panginabuhi,” he said.

However, he was not content. Aside from fishing marine resources, Legaspino branched to other small businesses like aquaculture and managed to build his own fish cages.

“Maong na-discover ko sa BFAR tungod kay ilang gibisita akong fish cage. Nindot man tungod kay improvement man gyud akong nahimo. Mao ilang nakita nga angayan pud ipasigarbo,” he said.

But Legaspino’s was set to face more trials in life.

At least 16 of his fish cages were washed away when super typhoon Yolanda crossed the central part of the country in 2013. The total damage was pegged at most P10 million.

“Pero wala gyud ko kawad-i og paglaum. Natimaan na man nako ang ideya. Nagsugod ko sa ginagmay hangtod nga akong giatiman ug karon nibalik na pud ko. Karon naa na koy seven ka units,” he said.

His hard work also paid off. Three of his six children are now professionals; one is an engineer while the other two finished business administration.

“Nagpasalamat ko sa Ginoo nga wala ko magtuo nga maabot ko niini. Sa sinugdanan, dili gyud lalim akong kaagi. Kon atong balikon, pait gyud kaayo. Daghang kabag-ohan sa akong panginabuhi, bisan sa akong ka pobre, tungod sa akong paningkamot,” said Legaspino as he shed tears.

He said he is proof that poverty is not a hindrance, even for ordinary fisherfolks, to reach their aspirations in life.  (FREEMAN)