Models and Leaders in CRM
The man who talks to fishes

Among the most effective advocates for coastal resource management in fishing communities are the fishers themselves, home-grown leaders who inspire others by "modeling the way" to wise and sustainable use and management of coastal resources. Timoteo Menguito of Gilutongan Island in Cordova, Cebu is one such leader, and this is his story.

By Manolita R.B. Morales
Social Mobilization Assistant, CRMP

ur destination was Gilutongan, an island about three nautical miles off the southernmost part of the municipality of Cordova, Cebu, Philippines. The sea was angry, seemingly baring its teeth from a foaming mouth ready to devour me should I miscalculate the leap from the large outrigger boat to the small paddleboat that would take me to shore. My heart hardly daring to skip a beat, I gritted my teeth and steeled myself ready to make the jump. Then a hand reached out and firmly gripped mine. Understanding my predicament, this man gently coaxed me to make that successful jump. That was my first meeting with Timoteo Menguito, a key leader on Gilutongan Island, Cordova, Cebu.

Family and friends call him either Toti or Kuting. An unassuming name and an unassuming demeanor belie the fact that he holds key positions in various organizations: chair of the barangay (village) Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Management Council, chair of the Gilutongan Seaweed Farmers Multi-purpose Cooperative and, most recently, designated Project Director of the Gilutongan Marine Sanctuary. He is a well-respected leader, not because of the many positions he holds but because of the strength of character he exudes and, many times, has proven.

Toti's popularity as a leader is invariably connected with the Gilutongan Marine Sanctuary, which by itself also tells the story of a community attempting to regain the abundance of its seas. According to the village elders, in the early fifties, the waters around Gilutongan teemed with fishes. Sadly however, the coastal resources declined because overfishing and the use of destructive fishing methods. When the people realized that poverty would forever haunt them for their wanton disregard of their environment, many began to mend their ways. In their quest to make things right, they found a partner in the defunct Cebu Resource Management Office (CRMO) under then Office of then Governor Emilio Osmeña, which provided them training and observation tours to places that were also in the process of protecting and conserving their natural resources. Subsequently, about 10 hectares of the waters off the western part of Gilutongan was established as a marine sanctuary.

Toti's passion might have been greater than the rest. Witnessing and experiencing the negative impacts of destructive fishing to both people and habitats has been especially tormenting for this fisher's son, who once knew the sea to be generous and full of life.

Unlike many others, however, Toti chose to act on his torment. He volunteered to patrol the sanctuary that was established through the CRMO. Monitoring activities were conducted even deep into the night, when most prowlers, thinking the sanctuary was unguarded, preferred to strike. At times he only had to admonish the violators. At other times, armed only with wits and guts and at great risk to his life, he had to battle wealthy and the well-connected violators.

Hon. Jury Ompad, who had trained and worked with Toti in the conservation initiative of the CRMO, recounted to me a story about Toti's encounter with a scion of a politically powerful clan whose fishing boat intruded into the sanctuary. Visibly irked that someone would stop him from fishing in the area, this arrogant prowler and his friends harassed Toti. Undaunted, Toti brought them to the Barangay Captain to answer for their misdeed. The incident, however, was settled amicably, which meant the violators went home free, without imprisonment or even a fine. But for his huge effort in the protection of the sanctuary, Toti secured a place in the hearts of his fellow community members.

When pressed for details, Toti makes light of the incident. Perhaps, in his mind, time has diminished the impact of his action, more so now that he faces new challenges as the newly installed project director of the "revived" Gilutongan Marine Sanctuary. Recently, a Technical Working Group (TWG) that was created to plan for the sanctuary's protection - of which Toti is a member-discovered that the establishment of the sanctuary was not duly covered by the proper legal instrument. So the TWG assisted the municipality in the legislation of Ordinance No. 4 Series of 1999, which was approved in May, expanding the sanctuary the from 10 to 14 hectares, and Ordinance No. 8 Series of 1999, which was approved in November, defining the activities to be allowed, regulated and restricted within the sanctuary and prescribing penalties for violations.

Still, Toti admits that weak government support for local law enforcement makes him feel helpless and so alone at times that during his night patrols, because of his concern for the denizens of the sea and his community, he is driven to talk to the fishes, telling them to stay deep in their shelters, away from the water surface where poachers and illegal fishers are waiting to catch them. Given the current state of law enforcement, he says he sometimes thinks that the preservation of fishes would depend on how the fishes themselves avoid the destructive hand of humankind.

He talks to fishers, too -- As project director of the Gilutongan Marine
Sanctuary, Toti is responsible for motivating fellow fishers to get
involved in the sanctuary's protection.

Of course, as Project Director, his bigger responsibility lies in motivating a thousand people in the 11-hectare Barangay Gilutongan, most of whom derive income from the sea, to take that leap from ignorance to knowledge, from indifference to involvement in the protection of the Gilutongan Marine Sanctuary.

This should not be difficult for 50-year-old Toti, whose charisma is enhanced by his facility in communication. Visitors are always impressed by Toti's confidence in talking to an audience, whether they are fishers like him or high ranking officials like National Director Malcolm Sarmiento of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. He can hold the attention of his audience with his simple presentation, spiced with humorous analogies and examples, whether he is presenting results of a fish census or explaining to visitors the latest technique in seaweed farming.

Such flair for public speaking came through hard work. Having finished elementary school only, Toti made use of every opportunity to gain new knowledge and skills, fully aware that his limited educational preparation was a constraint to his development and capacity to provide for his family. He listened to people and observed their manner of moving and speaking. He availed of training courses and opportunities at seminars and cross visits to Apo Island and Guning, President Garcia, Bohol that were provided by the CRMO.

Toti is also one of the first members of the Seaweed Growers Cooperative in Gilutongan. His farm, although situated in what is apparently a less favorable site, is one of the few in his cooperative that have turned out a profit, thanks to his perseverance and hard work. Working longer hours than others, he patiently tended his "sea gardens," ridding the bags of seaweeds of unwanted sand, cutting new seedlings from those growing beyond the capacity of the net bags and transferring the sick ones to favorable areas.

Last year, he attended a training course in participatory coastal resource assessment, an integrated coastal management training course and all the biophysical assessment activities jointly conducted in his area by the Coastal Resource Management Project and the University of the Philippines-Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI). At the start of the training, Toti was simply a skin diver who took part in the manta tow. Not long after, however, equipped with this rudimentary training, he led the Gilutongan Monitoring team to win second place among six similar teams from different provinces which participated in a Marine Protected Area Workshop/Contest held at Agutayem Island, Misamis Oriental in August 1999. The training also allowed him to take the lead in mobilizing the community in the conduct of the fish visual census.

What Toti does, he does well for he gives his all. This man, with his intense passion for the sea and its preservation, burns like a beacon, lighting the way and inspiring the people of his island toward the realization of their vision. This is one person who has truly learned and is committed to live the real essence of shared responsibility.

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