Badjao chieftain: "May our tribe survive with government help"

DAUIS, BOHOL, Philippines - The story of the Badjao tribe that settled in this town for years now is one of continuing struggle for survival, livelihood, education and freedom from the "outcast" tag.

Only about five to seven out of 25 Badjao children who get day-care attention make it to pre-school, and over 90 percent of the population of 500, including adults, are illiterate.

This is the stark reality facing the Badjao tribe, said chieftain Mario Cuham in an exclusive interview with The FREEMAN that accompanied the recent visit of a 15-man group of professors, students and consultants from Manila-based colleges and universities tackling special issues of social development.

Two Day-Care sessions a day---one in the morning and another in the afternoon---were being held just for Badjao children aged 2 to 4. It is housed in a hall erected within the shoreline of barangay Totolan of this town.

Each session, of some 24 kids, has two teachers: the chieftain's daughter Marina Cuham-Guba and Marife Tahakim-Melencion. The two are Badjaos themselves, products of government-sponsored education, who after graduation committed to serve their fellow Badjaos.

The chieftain, who was born in Zamboanga but grow up here, said they are a seafarer tribe so it would be hard for them to embrace a new environment, such as the government's plan to relocate them to the upland of this town.

Cuham said their lives largely depend on fishing, which is getting harder and harder because of the ban on spear fishing in the waters off Tubigon town. He said they are not using the "boso" or "compressor" because this is prohibited, but he complained why they are banned from using spear in catching tangigue and tuna,which are abundant in Bagongbanwa island of Tubigon.

He has been worried that if the government continues to be very strict against their fishing methods, what would they do and where would they go from here. When they tried to secure permit from Tubigon officials to let them fish by spears, they were denied.

The Badjaos have "poor home condition, usually with one room serving as sala, bedroom, dining and kitchen," and "poor sanitation where trash and garbage are just thrown and bowled under their houses raised above sea level," according to the paper entitled Prosperity Program for Badjao Tribe.

On livelihood, 75 percent of them are engaged in fishing earning only between P1,000 and P1,500 per catch. Six percent of them are selling "borloloy" while 13 percent are into mendicancy, exploiting their children who now become either "tourist attraction" or "tourist irritation."

On education, some 49 out of about 175 children are studying elementary; seven in high school and only one in college being aided by Panaghoy Children Foundation, a local NGO, the paper said. DepEd has detailed one teacher in Alternative Learning System (ALS) for 18 out-of-school youth and adults.

Among the members of the visiting group were from the Center for Local and Regional Governance of UP Diliman; University of Sto. Tomas; Philippine Women's University's Bayanihan Folk Arts Foundation; Far Eastern University; St. Scholastica College; Asian Development Bank; National Food Authority central office; UP College of Music; and UP College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. — (FREEMAN)