Propuestas de sesiones de aprendizajes

A second aspect having the potential to make a freshwater fish sanctuary in San Mariano work or not is clear communication, on all levels. The greatest pitfall in the transition from one barangay council to the next every three years lies in an improper transfer and communication about existing ordinances and projects, with insufficient knowledge about the ordinance as a consequence. There is a general tendency in local policies of the former team of barangay officials to radically turn their back at policy issues at the time they have to pass on the power in the hands of the new team of barangay officials. Barangay ordinances are therefore not well transferred to the next barangay secretary and get lost. Although many new barangay officials might have a strong willingness to further implement and enforce existing ordinances, a lack of precise knowledge lies at the base of a general failure of these intentions, especially in the long term. The same anonymous LGU-member as referred to before summarized this in the next quote: “In the Philippines, there are three sides of a coin,

they will tell you this, if you ask the same question to the opposition, they will tell you something else” (pers. comm. anonymous member of the LGU, 2014). This striking quote

however fails to oversee the bigger reality. Very often the same few families in one barangay remain in power over the years, despite several new members or full teams of barangay councils. This is especially the case in big stream barangays, where after a few terms, the same – relatively rich – barangay captain regains power again. In the meantime they have never left the stage: through their extensive network of relatives, they continue putting pressure on topics they consider to be personally relevant, even at times when they are not in power.

The poor knowledge about the fish sanctuary as a result of inadequate communication consequently affects the communication with community members during the community assembly meetings as well. As the barangay assembly meeting is the only barangay communication platform, all relevant and urgent matters are discussed during these meetings with the community residents. Different barangays have different procedures in reminding their residents about existing ordinances, including the fish sanctuary. In places where the fish sanctuary is located far away from the barangay centre, barangay officials usually consider it unnecessary to remind the rules of the fish sanctuary every meeting (e.g. Libertad, Del Pilar, Dibuluan) whereas in barangays where the fish sanctuary is located in the centre of their barangay, the fish sanctuary tend to be on the agenda in nearly each barangay assembly meeting (e.g. San José, Disulap, Ibujan, Dicamay). As the quantitative analysis has significantly shown, the decision to remind the rules ensure higher chances for successful fish sanctuaries25. However, this triple-down of information from the barangay council to the community members does not always proceed uncomplicatedly. Specific rules are often only shortly addressed and remain susceptible for discussion. This confusion greatly hinders a further strict enforcement of the rules and regulations and a consistent fining of penalties. Besides, the barangay captain of Libertad points out that there is a serious deficit in the policy adopted by most barangays that mandates the presence of only one representative per household per meeting. Generally, only 70 to 80% of the community households are represented in the barangay assembly meetings and of those attendees, the large majority are women. A small topic such as reminding the rules of the fish sanctuary is usually not passed on to their husbands after the meeting. As the large majority of fishers are men, a great deal of the communication about the fish sanctuary does not reach the population that it is addressed to. Although many barangays had already fined or were

25    _{Del  Pilar  is  an  exception  here:  There  is  a  relative  high  success  score}  despite the captain’s tendency to limit the

reminding about the fish sanctuary in assembly meetings only to moments when fingerlings are released. This can be attributed to the relative far distance of the fish sanctuary from the barangay centre and its unfavourable conditions for fishing, rather than purposeful management strategies (see next chapter).

considering fining a penalty for absent households at community assembly meetings, this does not notably affect the problem concerning the unequal distribution in terms of gender among the attendees.

On the other hand, good communication between barangay officials and higher institutions respectably increases chances for success in community-conserved freshwater areas too. According to the Fisheries Code (1998) “The municipal/city government, in

consultation with the FARMC26 shall be responsible for the management, conservation, development, protection, utilization, and disposition of all fish and fishery/aquatic resources within their respective municipal waters.” A first great gap with this national law in San

Mariano is the fact that all of the ordinances declaring fish sanctuaries are enacted by the barangays themselves. Although all ordinances had to be sent to the LGU for approval, they eventually got implemented and enforced within the barangay itself, by barangay officials. Consequently, also the management and the monitoring responsibilities lie with the barangay members. This reality makes a clear division of responsibilities regarding the management of the fish sanctuaries between the barangay and the LGU difficult and further complicates mutual expectations. This has been clear upon comparing interviews with LGU-members and barangay officials. “The LGU should… ” and “The barangays should…” are two expressions

often heard respectively at the barangay level and in the LGU. What goes wrong here is a serious lack of communication. Florita-Marietta Turingan Bartolome as municipal administrator is well aware of the duties of the LGU to implement the ordinances according to the Fisheries Code. She stated: “If we would hear complaints about the fish sanctuaries in

the barangays, we would enforce the ordinances that are stored here in the office of the municipal secretary. We would invite the parties to tackle the problem, or we could organise additional seminars and trainings to re-inform the people. But we do not know anything. That’s the problem with the barangay officials: they do not complain. They are afraid to complain, because it’s their livelihood” (pers. comm. Bartolome, 2014). This clearly

addresses the lack of communication from the barangay level to the municipal level. However, to attribute this lack of communication to the fact that it’s people livelihoods does not hold for the majority of the fishers in San Mariano. Rather, this lack of communication can be attributed to –again- the value of fishing as “casual catch”, and the consequent result that barangay officials are not concerned with the fish sanctuaries as a top priority. The lack of communication with the LGU can therefore better be allocated to other priorities of barangay officials. The same story applies to environmental issues within the LGU. There was great confusion between the different departments (MENRO, DA, municipal secretary office) about the exact responsibilities of every single department regarding the fish sanctuaries. Clearly,

26

poor communication between the departments and the discrepancy between what is written in the Fisheries Code and what is the on-the-ground reality lies at the base here. Upon asking what the LGU could do to stop fishers from Cataguing who violate the fish sanctuaries in barangays upstream the Ilaguen River, one LGU-member summarized the situation in the as follows: “If it would be a priority of trust of the administration, something could be done.

However, the major now does not put high priority on environmental enforcement. He rather invests in level 3 water systems and infrastructure improvements in San Mariano. Fish sanctuaries are, unfortunately not the highest priority, and the same accounts in the barangays” (pers. comm. anonymous, 2014). Fishing as a ‘casual catch’ at the barangay

level and other community development priorities at the LGU thus explain why there is a serious gap in the communication from the barangay level to the municipal level and vice versa. This reality confines the intentions and efforts of those few people at all levels (fishers, barangay officials and LGU-members) that really want to change something. Better, effective communication at all levels could enhance a better co-management between all levels to stop outsiders in the fish sanctuaries in big stream and to ensure more benefits to the people.