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Click
map for a bigger image
 he islands of Masbate lie exactly
in the center of the Philippine archipelago. Relative to mainland Bicol,
the province faces the southwestern coasts of Camarines Sur, Albay and
Sorsogon.
The province of Masbate is composed of 21 municipalities; it has 39 islands
and islets. The total land area covers roughly 23% of the Bicol Region,
and over 1% of the national land area. It consists of three major islands:
Burias Island, with 2 municipalities; Ticao has 4 municipalities; and
Masbate Island, with 15 municipalities.
Population in 1995 was 653,641, or a growth rate of 1.77% over the 1990
figures. The municipality of Masbate registered the highest urban population
at 32,532; Aroroy accounted for the greatest number of rural settlers
at 52,133.
Some environmental issues
Masbate has serious agrarian problems and has the lowest private ownership
of agricultural land in the Bicol Region. Insurgency is also active in
the hinterlands. Farmers moved to the coasts and shifted to fishing as
a last recourse.
Fishing
off Monreal, Ticao Island, Masbate (A.Sia 2000)
Thus, rural population increases in 1995 were most accelerated in the
coastal barangays. Mangrove areas are under heavy population pressure.
Some areas have been reduced into dumpsites, many have been converted
into fishponds and settlement sites.
We've also seen the degradation of our forest resources. Human intrusion
into Protection Lands has adverse environmental impacts
A pot of gold - and pollution threats
The province of Masbate is considered one of the richest in mineral resources
in the country. Copper, silver, gold, lead, iron, manganese and chromite
deposits abound in most parts of the province. Also in abundance are guano
and rock phosphate.
Extraction and exploitation at levels significant enough to affect the
environment are so far confined only in Aroroy. From the concentration
processes, tremendous amounts of tailings are produced. Mine wastes and
tailings present the greatest pollution threats from the mining industry.
Natural calamities such as typhoons and earthquakes cause impounded materials
to be washed out or carried to bodies of water.
Cattle-full, forest-poor
Cattle production is a traditional source of livelihood, and Masbate
has sustained a substantial inventory of cattle through the years. In
1998, commercial, semi-commercial and backyard operations registered a
total number of 76,030 cattle head. Among the provinces of Bicol, only
Masbate showed an increasing cattle production by an average of 3,790
head per year.
The cattle industry also gave birth to the most popular annual tourism
event in the province: the Rodeo Filipino.
The cattle industry shows a lot of promise, but it also accounts for
over 50% of forest denudation in the province. From 828 square kilometers,
forest cover was reduced to 608 square kilometers a few decades ago and
is now down to zero.
About 5% of forestry plantations and production forests were cleared
in favor of coconut plantations. In 1992, the province had more than 16
million coconut trees.
Rich fisheries
Masbate is predominantly a fishing province. All 21 municipalities are
coastal. A total population of 402,971 in 270 barangays live along the
coast. Masbate has a total coastline of 968 kms.
Click
map for a bigger image
The province is rich in fishery resources, thanks to the marine fishery
areas surrounding its three major islands. These include Masbate Pass,
Asid Gulf, Samar Sea, Sibuyan Sea, Ticao Pass, Burias Pass, and the Visayan
Sea.
There is one existing fish sanctuary in the municipality of Palanas.
Masbate's coastal resources are varied and diverse, providing food and
employment for over 2/3 of the population. However, pollution and overexploitation,
population pressure, sedimentation, and destructive fishing techniques
threaten this valuable source of living.
For the period 1990-1995, toxic red tides were recorded in the waters
of Masbate. Paralytic shellfish poisoning cases were reported in the years
1991 and 1995.
A plan for a sustainable future
The province of Masbate does not have an environmental plan. But environmental
considerations have been incorporated into the Provincial Master Plan
and the Physical Framework Plan. Since its approval in June last year,
the government has been vigorously implementing the provisions of the
PPFP. What we lack in expertise, we make for in enthusiasm. We realize
that we have a lot of work to do, and the time to begin is now.
Imagine an economically stable province playing a major role as a component
of the newly industrialized Filipino nation where people enjoy a better
quality of life in a peaceful and ecologically balanced environment.
For the province, the preferred development strategy is Ports and Agricultural
Development Restructuring. Cataingan will be developed as the Integrated
Area Development (IAD) center for the Third District; San Jacinto will
serve as the IAD center for Ticao Island; and San Pascual will be the
IAD center for Burias Island.
This strategy has the following components:
- Under the Ports Development Program, Masbate will be developed
as a port of call offering convenient passage from the Bicol Mainland
in the east to the western islands of Luzon and Visayas, from Metro
Manila in the north to the southern centers of Visayas and Mindanao.
- Watershed Development and Rehabilitation Program calls for
massive reforestation and rehabilitation of watershed areas. Matangtubig,
Diwata and Tugbo Watershed Reserves are priority areas for development
and rehabilitation. Severely degraded areas have been identified and
prioritized for reclamation, rehabilitation and protection. Most of
these are mangrove areas. If these plans are implemented in the five-year
period 1997-2002, Masbate's present fishpond area will be drastically
reduced while timber stand in mangrove areas will dramatically increase.
- Under the Agricultural Intensification, Expansion and Diversification
Program are the following investment projects: post-harvest facilities
in Aroroy, Mandaon, Milagros, Cawayan and Pio V. Corpus; livestock auction
markets in Cataingan and San Pascual; artificial insemination center
for large cattle in Masbate; slaughterhouse and breeding center in Ticao
Island.
- The Infrastructure and Utilities Development Program covers
the establishment of major road networks within the province and the
provision of support facilities and utilities to the major economic
centers and settlement areas. This includes construction of irrigation
facilities in Milagros and Mandaon and the construction and rehabilitation
of San Pascual-Claveria national road. Research will focus on biodiversity
inventory and mapping in Monreal.
This island life
So deliberate, so unhurried, so inexorable are the ways of nature that
the stocking of an island may require thousands or millions of years.
Perhaps not many of us appreciate the fact that, isolated from the great
masss on the continents, with no opportunity for crossbreeding that tends
to preserve the average and to eliminate the new and unusual, island life
has developed in a remarkable manner.
Rock
formation at Borobangcaso Island, Monreal, Masbate (A. Sia, 2000)
On these remote bits of earth, nature has excelled in the creation of
strange and wonderful forms. As though to prove her incredible versatility,
almost every island has developed species that are endemic - that is,
they are peculiar to it alone and are duplicated nowhere else on earth.
You may have noticed a picture of a bird in the departure area of Masbate
airport. It reads:
| "Sa katunayan, ang Penelopides panini ticaensis, isang uri
ng tariktik na makikita lamang sa pulo ng Ticao, Lalawigan ng Masbate,
ay maaaring tuluyan nang maubos at mawala. Ang pagkaubos ng ibong
ito, kung ito man ay mawawala, ay kauna-unahang pangyayari na may
mawawalang kalaw o tariktik sa alinmang dako ng daigdig. At ang pagkawalang
ito na sanhi ng kagagawan ng tao ay nakakahiyang pangyayari at batik
sa karangalan ng ating bansa." |
We tried to get a picture of Penelopides panini ticaensis, to
no avail. We were informed that 3 German researchers tried to look for
this bird three or four years ago in Kumawit. They failed. We are
still hopeful, though, because some people claim to have seen this bird.
It is most probably a variation of the species. So, if any of you has
seen a tariktik (hornbill) recently, please tell us. If they're
gone, they're gone forever. Isn't it dreadful to think that we are accountable
to all of creation for their extermination?
Sonneratia ovata or kalong-kalong, a kind of mangrove, has so
far been sighted only in three or four provinces, including Masbate.
The tragedy of our islands lies in the uniqueness, the irreplaceability
of the species they have developed by the slow processes of the ages.
In a reasonable world, we would have treated these islands as precious
possessions, as natural museums filled with a beautiful and curious works
of creation, valuable beyond price because nowhere in the world are they
duplicated.
The provincial government has on-going negotiations with an NGO to assess
our resources. We have opted for participatory resource assessment; communities
within the vicinity of the area will be included in the research process
to ensure that they will appreciate and value the resources in their area.
Putting our hearts where home is
We cannot overemphasize the pivotal role of local communities to realize
our goals.
Who will care for these remote bits of earth but us? Home, they say,
is where the heart us. Is Masbate home to us? Hardly, if we consider our
rates of environmental degradation and outmigration. For so long, we have
been unmoved by the reckless exploitation of our resources. We have become
over-confident in our belonging; we wear Masbate like a second skin. We
claim it as our right, our inheritance, forgetting that it is a gift entrusted
to our stewardship.
We ravage our resources and escape the wreckage. We dream of lands flowing
of with milk and honey across the seas, beyond our horizons, so we can
knock on the doors of other people's homes. But if it were known how we
left our homes in ruins, who would open their doors to us?
First
Masbate Provincial Environmental Conference,
June 26-27, 2000, Bituon Beach Resort, Mobo, Masbate
(A. Sia, 2000)
This conference would have accomplished much even if it only inspires
us to put our hearts where home is.
It's up to us. This is our call. The buck stops here.
There is no time but now
No place but here
No one but us.
Rachel Carson,
The Sea Around Us
View
from the century-old lighthouse
on Jintotolo Island, Balud, Masbate.
(A. Sia, 2000)
In
fact, the Penelopides panini ticaensis, a kind of hornbill found
only on the island of Ticao, may soon become extinct. If this happens,
it will be the first time that a hornbill will become extinct anywhere
in the world. It will be a tragedy, an embarrassment and a blemish to
our reputation and honor as a people.
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