Rekindling balangay days; a mother’s farewell

I don’t know if it is some kind of knee jerk reaction but every time there is bad news about the government, up goes the flag of “better than expected growth” in the Philippines. And then you meet people who say what’s all the fuss about pork barrel corruption, our economy is doing better than ever. The cheering is not disturbed by destruction brought by the rains of Maring making 600,000 homeless, millions lost in agriculture and infrastructure etc. and rising unemployment equivalent to the GDP growth.

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When the first hostilities on fishing grounds broke out between the Philippines and China, a Chinese official said to me it would have been unnecessary if we had some kind of administration that would govern the sea.

It will be remembered that it all started when Philippine navy personnel boarded a Chinese fishing vessel because it was allegedly carrying a haul of corals, sharks and giant clams from Philippine waters on the disputed Scarborough Shoal. Chinese vessels moved in to stop the arrest.

I had some friends who had access to the Filipino fishermen who have since been banned from the waters. The fishermen said they could not understand the fuss. The sea was something both the Chinese and Filipino fishermen shared for generations. They were friends and would even share meals together.

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China and Vietnam have had similar disputes but have since set up a hotline to deal immediately on fishing disputes.

The two countries’ agriculture ministers signed the agreement in Beijing during the recent visit of the Vietnamese prime minister.

With China claiming ownership of the entire South China Sea and its island groups, disputes are inevitable with countries claiming some areas. On the other hand, China has said time and again it was willing to enter into joint ventures while shelving the issue of ownership. This is the Deng Xiaoping formula. Former Speaker Jose P. de Venecia of Centrist Asia-Pacific Democrats International has put forward a similar position.

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This shows yet again how little people are caught in geopolitical struggles. A group of Filipinos have now formed a group called balikBalangay Inc. with its website finalized this week as balikbalangayinc.weebly.com.

It will be a community-based coastal and marine resource management and will seek the cooperation of Filipino fishing groups.

It already has one community-based coastal and marine resource management project in Mindoro Occidental, in the municipality of Calintaan and on the island of Ilin. This began in early 2008 to March 2009.

It was hoped that it could be developed into a template for coastal resources management for the island of Mindoro, but can be applied to other parts of the country.

For Mindoro, the project was initially focused on educating local communities on Ilin Island and in Calintaan (Barangay Concepcion) on coastal and marine resources management. It would organize community actions to reverse the devastated state of coral reef biodiversity and fishery resources.

The balikbalangay Inc would help fisherfolk improve their marine environment for sustainable fishery production.

Alternative livelihoods are also sought because of the decrease in fishery harvests while conservation measures are being constructed.

Ambassador Encomienda and some experts will reach out to the community to help with the project and ask fishery groups to get in touch through the website.

BalikBalangay Inc. has two key components — a “think tank,” the Center for Archipelagic and Regional Sea Law and Policy Studies, and the implementing arm, Oceanfriends. It is not about disputed seas alone but about the general care of the seas of the region. That means the South China Sea, Sulu Sea, Java and Celebes seas, and the Gulf of Thailand. These were the maritime bridges that linked and unified the Malayo-Polynesian tribal communities in the region through trade and commerce for thousands of years… since time immemorial, hence the name of the group.

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I think this is what China and other countries in the region mean about development using the ancient Balangay regional maritime communications.

“This awareness could be relevant redesigning and modernizing our regional maritime governance besides helping to alleviate the current rising tension and hostility in these waters.

A hark back to the Balangay era would be the reminder of a strong cultural, commercial and historical ties among the peoples in the region living and sharing the benefits of peaceful enjoyment of the abundant marine resources and trade among them, “ the website said.

This regional cooperation is necessary to achieve the Asian Century that most economic experts concede is the future not only for the region but also for a global economic recovery.

The name balikBalangay broadly translated is about “a return to the era of the Balangay.” This return to that era would mean marine environmental protection, marine scientific research and safety and security of navigation. It is based on the “connectivity of the oceans in the wider regional sea area of maritime Asia.”

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I was at the memorial services of Leonarda R. Fallarme, “Nading” to her friends last Thursday at the Sta. Maria della Strada in Quezon City.  She is the mother of Maria Ronson, a long time friend. We have shared many journalistic adventures since London days.

Her mother was a fan and had a wonderful story about the banned “Untold Story of Imelda Marcos” during martial law. She lent her copy to friends with the proviso they put a stroke before passing it on to the next reader and so on. When the book was finally returned to her she counted 3,000 strokes.

 I have truly wondered how Maria had managed to straddle caring for a sick mother and a competitive career in international journalism.  The last days of her mother were spent in a Hong Kong hospital.

By the time Maria arrived from one of her business trips, her mother lay in coma. Maria prayed her mother would wake up so she could make her final good-bye. She opened her eyes when Maria touched her hand.  Her 93-year-old mother said “I don’t want to die…” Maria made a gesture of assurance and asked, “Why?” “Because I love you.” And then she was gone. Maria has been a good daughter. Her mother died on the day this column paid tribute to her success as AP’s top executive in Asia.