TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT

LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES

Researcher-Writer: Abby Mercado
Sentro para sa Ikauunlad ng Katutubong Agham at Teknolohiya, Inc. (SIKAT, Inc.)
Copyright 2011
SIKAT, Inc.
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission
from the publisher.
SIKAT, Inc. is a non-government organization committed to organizing interdependent communities and peoples organizations,
and facilitating community-based coastal resource management; promoting appropriate fishing technologies; advocating for
community-based natural resource management, gender fairness, sustainable livelihoods, good governance and genuine fishery
policy reforms by direct lobbying or federation building; and, developing a physical and human Resource Center for Natural
Resource Management accessible to, and in partnership with, community organizations.
Cover and Book Design: Marco Ruben T. Malto II
Published by Sentro para sa Ikauunlad ng Katutubong Agham at Teknolohiya, Inc.
Unit 340 Eagle Court Condominium
26 Matalino St., Brgy. Central, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
Telefax: (+632) 927-2325
Website: www.sikatphil.org
Email: sikat.sikat@gmail.com
This book was made possible through the project funding assistance from Oxfam Hong Kong.

CONTENTS
FOREWORD: RESPONSIBLE WELLBEING IN DEVELOPMENT

INTRODUCTION

CASE STORIES:
MYRNA

REMY

15

MARLYN

25

SALLY

31

SIKATS CONTRIBUTION TO RESPONSIBLE WELLBEING

41

MAKING IT HAPPEN

45

APPENDIX 1: DEMYSTIFYING MISCONCEPTIONS

47

APPENDIX 2: LIST OF ACRONYMS

49

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

FOREWORD
RESPONSIBLE WELLBEING
IN DEVELOPMENT
With the challenging attempts to
define wellbeing in the context of
international development come even
more struggling efforts to measure
the wellbeing impact of development
work.
Referring to Oxfam Hong Kongs
(OHK) framework of responsible wellbeing, which places changes within
individual wellbeing as the highest
level of change, Towards Securing

Fisherfolk Settlement: Lessons from

Zambales is one exciting attempt to
feature the extent of contribution of
SIKATs Fisherfolk Settlement
Advocacy and Model-Building Project
to the wellbeing of its individual
stakeholders, through the unique
stories of four women from
Zambales.

Oxfam Hong Kong believes that the

responsible wellbeing of people,
especially the poor, is the ultimate
goal of its development and humanitarian work.OHK defines responsible
wellbeing as a sense of personal and
collective fulfillment, balance and
integration. It is seen to have four
critical dimensions, as:
Self- sustenance (i.e. sustainable
livelihoods with dignity in labor, some
material comfort and leisure);
Self-esteem (i.e. a sense of
self-worth and respect from others,
ability to appreciate and live out
positive values);
Self-determination
(i.e. the ability to make individual
and collectives choices and
enjoy individual and collective
freedoms); and
Social responsibility (i.e. social
and personal solidarity and

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES | 2

responsibility, peace and security,

and a capacity for empathy and
caring, linked to awareness of
interconnectedness and the impact
of their lives on others).
The stories of Myrna, Remy,
Marlyn and Sally have shown
Positive evidences of change in their
well- being as a result of their
involvement in the work of SIKAT,
particularly concerning fisherfolk
settlement issues. These four women
represent the situation of many
fisherfolk families in the country, and
their contributions to the advocacy
exemplify the dedication of other
women, as well as men, doing their
share in addressing the escalating
issue of fisherfolk settlement in the
Philippines.
By focusing on the plight of four
women, SIKAT also hopes to highlight

how the settlement issue tends to be

perceived as a womens issue in most
coastal communities since they are
often left to tend to their homes and
children, while their fisher-husbands
are out in the sea to provide food on
the table. That more of these Filipino
women are taking on social roles, and
are not only fulfilling reproductive
functions, is worth recognizing, and
should be further encouraged
through adequate support. Filipino
mothers are also called ilaw ng
tahanan (meaning light of the
home) for their great responsibility of
looking after all the household needs
of their families. In this book, these
four women, also mothers, showcase
how they are going beyond their
traditional roles and start fighting for
a place to live not only for their own
families, but also for the rest of the
coastal communities in the country.

INTRODUCTION
Fishing is, understandably, a vital
industry in an archipelago of more
than 7,000 islands. But why
are the fisherfolks one of the
poorest sectors in the Philippines
that they cannot even afford to
secure one of mans basic needs
shelter? To date, the lack of
tenurial security threatens the lives
and livelihoods of the majority of
the countrys more than two million
municipal fisherfolks.
Coastal and marine environment
degradation, commercialization,
urbanization and tourism are
a few of the many other factors
contributing to the increasing
vulnerability of the fisherfolks.
A resulting and growing issue in
a rising number of coastal communities in Zambales is fisherfolk
tenurial security. Some fisherfolk
families are forced to sell their

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES | Introduction | 4

lands to investors due to poor

catch and declining income, while
others are evicted from their lands
due to the presence of other
Claimants whether legal or illegal.
On the one hand, SIKATs efforts
in Zambales have been mainly
focused on poverty alleviation
in the coastal areas through
resource management, for the past
20 years. Its project initiative
on fisherfolk settlement, on the
other hand, targets the underlying
issues that lead to the displacement
of many fisherfolk families, leaving
them homeless and without
their fishing livelihoods. The
majority of the fishers in the area
do not possess the necessary
documents to prove their settlement rights to the land. Many
simply rely on their tax declaration
or tax receipts, which are not even

a sufficient or strong proof of land

ownership.
Community-based coastal resource
management provides the communities the rights, as well as the
responsibilities, to use, protect
and manage coastal resources
at a specific management unit,
be it the establishment of a fish
sanctuary, demarcated area,
mangrove reforestation, seagrass
reservation, and municipal waters
delineation. A management unit
has two major elements
the coastal/marine resources
and the communities, and these
two elements are interconnected.
The communitys capacity and
capability to assert their right to
manage is essential in this process.
When fisherfolks are resettled in
another area, the protection and
management of a fish sanctuary

and other coastal resources is

inevitably affected. Relocating
fishers far from their sources of
livelihoods results in anxieties over
the safety of their fishing boats and

fishing gears. Having to walk long

distances to get to the sea also
has huge consequences on the
fishers daily catch.

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES | Introduction | 5

SIKATs preliminary involvement

in fisherfolk settlement issues
started in the late 90s, but the
three-year funding support from
Oxfam Hong Kong has enabled
SIKAT to address the issue using a
more strategic and localized
approach. The SIKAT Fisherfolk
Settlement Advocacy and ModelBuilding Project aims to integrate
fisherfolk settlement in government
policies and development framework, and come up with working
models on securing fisherfolk
tenurial rights at the local level.
SIKAT hopes to achieve
this through:
Increased awareness
of peoples organizations, NGOs,
networks and government
institutions on the issue of fisherfolk settlement, settlement-related
laws, and legal and metalegal

tenurial rights, options and

strategies;
Advocacy on appropriate
national and local policies that
recognize the need to secure
settlement areas for the fishing
communities;
Development of local models
using tenurial tools and metalegal
practices to fisherfolk settlement
rights; and Development of an
institutional strategic direction that
will ensure continuity of fisherfolk
settlement advocacy and
community-based support after
the OHK support ends.
Through the use of case stories,
the research for this book provided
the opportunity to feature some
of the efforts of the SIKAT
fisherfolk settlement project on the
ground. More specifically, the case
stories in this book hope to show

how the project contributes to the

wellbeing of its stakeholders,
in particular, and to community
development, in general. In doing
so, this publication will also serve
as a resource in order to:
Monitor and evaluate the
SIKAT Fisherfolk Settlement
Advocacy and Model-Building
Project in Zambales;
Distil learnings and reflect on
the projects good practices; and
Document and promote/
replicate good practices in other
areas.

Myrna
Myrna Rodriguez was suffering
from sleepless nights following
the discovery that the land where
she was born 55 years ago belongs
to people who have never even set
foot in their area. Feeling hopeless
and sick with worry most
of the time, she had to stop selling
fish, hindering her from supporting
her husbands freelance photography job in order to earn sufficient income for the family.
All my four children were still
in school at the time both my
parents and all my relatives
have lived here all their lives,
and I had no idea where we could
stay if we had lost our homes.
Myrna and her family had no other
place to go, and nor did the rest
of more than 200 families now
residing in Barangay Felmida-Diaz
of Cabangan, Zambales. Only three

families were staying in the area

when Myrnas ancestors decided
to settle in the idle land of
Barangay Felmida-Diaz three
generations ago.
Task force for the fishers,
by the fishers
We were not taking action
as an organized group back in
1996 when we found ourselves
confronted with the possibility
of being displaced. Without
adequate knowledge and capacity
to deal with the legal implications
of our settlement problem, we did
not even know where to start.
Myrna talks about feeling helpless
about their situation, a sentiment
shared by all other residents
in their area who do not possess
the necessary documents to uphold
their rights to the land.

Myrna Rodriguez says it is easier

to mobilize members of her barangay,
having earned their respect.

Model 1: Reversion of Land Titles

Reversion of titles is defined as the process of cancellation of the
title by the court filed by the Solicitor General based on the DENR
recommendation, which is founded on the formal protest filed by
the affected people or community. This model could be used by the
fisherfolks when the titled land or the process of its titling is found
to be irregular or illegal, when there are already residents occupying the land before the titling or when there is a threat of displacement of the current occupants, and there is valid evidence that the
land claimant has never resided in the claimed property.
Waiver of rights involves the land owner waiving his rights to the
land; this is possible particularly when the community is confident
of their rights to the property in question, such as when the titling
procedures over the property are found to be irregular or illegal.
Land donation is possible when the land owner agrees to donate
the entire or parcel of land to the community, particularly the lot
areas which are already being occupied.

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES | Myrna | 9

Eventually, we decided to
approach SIKAT for support since it
has been assisting us with our
other community problems for
years.
While Barangay Felmida-Diaz is
already part of SIKATs existing
programs in Zambales, fisherfolk
settlement was not always one of
them.
How can we promote the concept
of sustainable use and management of coastal resources if the
fisherfolk families, our key resource
and stakeholder, cannot continue
living in their own homes and are at
risk of losing access to their main
source of livelihood for good?
Chito Dugan, SIKAT Executive
Director, explains why they were
prompted to expand their work in
the area to include efforts to

address fisherfolk settlement

issues.
SIKAT started with what they
do bestorganize the people.
The Task Force Settlement
(TFS) was formed in 1998 as
part of SIKATs initial activities
in tackling the tenurial issue
together with the members of
the community. With support
from SIKAT, the TFS members
mobilize communities, conduct
researches including inventory of
public lands, lobby for local
ordinances with the concerned
authorities and local government
units (LGUs), process the necessary
documents and file appropriate
actions regarding their cause,
as well as network with relevant
agencies and sectors. Upon
learning of the magnitude of the
settlement problem, the TFS grew

into a bigger group at the provincial

level to include the TFS local units
of other coastal communities in
Zambales, with 10 barangays
forming its own fisherfolk settlement advocacy group. Members
of the provincial TFS meet on a
regular basis to share updates and
more importantly, lessons. The TFS
is composed of 25 men and women
who volunteered to be members,

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES | Myrna | 10

but SIKAT has observed that the

women tend to be more active.
This encouraged SIKAT to be more
proactive in getting more men
involved to reduce the burden of
securing tenurial rights on the
women.
Cristina Reyes, SIKAT Program
Manager, shares that although the
Oxfam Hong Kongs official support
to the project ends in 2011, she is
confident that the Task Force
Settlement will be able to continue
the work they have started. The
OHK funding has allowed us to
conduct series of relevant trainings
through the years in order to build
the capacity of the Task Force
Settlement members. Nevertheless,
SIKAT will continue to provide
mentoring activities for the group,
as appropriate.

A continuing struggle
Findings of the research led by the
Task Force Settlement-Cabangan
revealed that all of the 11 hectares
of Barangay Felmida-Diaz were
illegally acquired by five owners
mainly because proper procedures
in issuing land titles were not
observed. Myrna, an active member
of the task force, narrates that such
crucial findings enabled them to
pursue appropriate actions as
mandated by government policies,
particularly by the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR) and Land Management
Bureau (LMB). As SIKAT and the
task force continue to explore the
law, along with various tenurial
tools and practices in securing
fisherfolk settlement rights, several
models have been established to
act upon the different circumstances surrounding each

concerned fisherfolk barangay.

In the case of Barangay FelmidaDiaz, the SIKAT model on securing
fisherfolk tenurial rights involving
the Reversion of Land Titles,
Waiver of Rights by Land Owner
and Land Donation has already
yielded positive results for some
families. With legal, logistical and
training assistance from SIKAT,
Myrna, together with other
members of TFS-Cabangan, is
able to process the necessary
documents and deal with the
authorities to facilitate the awarding
of the Deed of donation to the
entitled families of their barangay.
To date, deeds of donation have
been signed and awarded to 24
families of Barangay Felmida-Diaz.

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES | Myrna | 11

This process of negotiation with the

land owner is being done simultaneously with the use of reversion of
land titles. The reversion case is still
being pursued on the ground of
fraud and misrepresentation on the
acquisition of the land title through
free patent. Once the reversion of
land title is achieved, the current
occupants can then be the
legitimate applicants for the free
patent.
A different, better Myrna
Myrna shares that she used to have
an easy-going lifestyle with more
time to chat with her neighbors
once she had sold all her fish. The
settlement problem had changed all
this. Being directly affected by the
issue, she had no choice but to take
part in the community actions. Her
active involvement in the community efforts concerning the

settlement problem later led to her

further participation in addressing
other community issues having
been elected by her barangay as a
Kagawad; a barangay is the
smallest political unit in the
Philippines, headed by a barangay
captain and composed of several
councilors or kagawad, and has
both executive and legislative
powers. Myrna is also elected Chair
of Municipal Fisheries and Aquatic
Resource Management Council
(MFARMC) in her area, and
secretary of its provincial unit, due
to her involvement in coastal
resource management through
SIKAT. Apart from enabling her to
help other members of her own and
other barangays, these positions
have also provided Myrna with
various opportunities for learning
and personal growth, as well as
incentives for her family including a

livelihood grant for a fishpond.

Although she now leads a busier life
with her increasing community
involvements, Myrna proudly
discloses why she has every reason
to feel happier.
I gained the courage to deal with
our settlement problem after
undergoing a series of paralegal
training organized by SIKAT
because I know more about the
issue, our rights and what we can
do as a community. Myrna says it
is also easier for her to mobilize
other members of her barangay,
having earned their respect given
her Task Force Settlement
involvement.

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES | Myrna | 13

Edgar Peregrino, a 60-year-old

resident and fisher of Barangay
Felmida-Diaz, echoes this
confidence in Myrnas capacity to
get things done as he shared his
own settlement problems. Apart
from feeling threatened by the
issue, Edgar says that the activities
involving their settlement problem
in the past 15 years often took a lot
of their fishing time, preventing
them to make enough living for
their families. When asked if he
feels more secure about his land
now, Edgar nods and explains,
I know that Myrna is already in
control of our situation. I only have
to go to her for answers to my
questions. Hence in an even
prouder tone, Myrna shares that
even the men in the community
now approach her for information
and advice on the issue; some
asking her to lead them. She
admits that such instances help

build her self-esteem as a

woman, particularly since
her husband recognizes
and fully supports her
involvement in the
fisherfolk advocacy.
Since her children have
attained higher education
than her secondary
schooling, Myrna says she
used to seek advice from
them regarding the issue.
Today, her children come to
her for information and want
to be involved in their mothers
efforts to address their
communitys settlement problem.
Myrna acknowledges that their
struggle is far from over, but
armed with a deeper understanding
of fisherfolk settlement issues and
supported by the strength of a
more-organized group of people

Edgar Peregrino is confident that Myrna

is in control of their situation.

undergoing the same struggle,

Myrna feels confident that they
will win in the end and she will
be able to sleep more soundly in
her very own home in Barangay
Felmida-Diaz, for years to come.

Remy
It is one thing to be forced by a
group of armed men to leave your
house and watch them destroy the
home you built with your own
hands; it is another thing to be the
only family in a village of many to
have to suffer while the rest are left
to watch and learn a lesson from
your misfortune.
The demolition job may have
happened in 2008 but Remy
Loayon still breaks down in tears as
she recounts her familys traumatic
experience. They have recently
returned and started building their
home again due to their confidence
in the negotiation that SIKAT has
facilitated with the land owner. But
Remy says they continue to fear
going through the same horrific
experience until they are able to
legally secure rights to their land.
We are aware that we do not have

rights to the land, but we are also

willing to do what it takes to make
that happen. Our family suffered
because we did not know at the
time who was telling us the right
information and therefore, who
should be guiding us in the right
direction through the legal
procedures. Remy says that the
demolition job was a result of a
misguided action on the part of
Remy and her husband, both not
having any knowledge of the law.
They ended up going to the wrong
person for help someone who
has great political influence rather
than to the authorities on the
matter. But while the demolition
only happened to Remys family,
her settlement problem is shared
by 284 other families in their area,
because they also do not possess
any legal documentation to secure
their land.

Remy Loayon discloses her feelings

of self-pity due to their demolition
experience, but it has taught her to
be more questioning and resourceful.

Model 2: Community Mortgage Program (CMP)

The Community Mortgage Program is a government housing program
wherein an organized community can access a loan through the National
Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC), and hence is another
option for fisherfolks to access homeownership. The CMP offers the lowest
interest in housing loans, or six percent per annum with 25 years to pay
(maximum loan term). One crucial requirement in applying for a CMP,
however, is the land owners willingness to sell the property to the
community; the latter being represented by a duly-registered community
association. The residents, minimum of 20 families/beneficiaries, should also
be willing and capable to buy the said property. Four major stakeholders are
needed for a CMP to take operation and each has own functions and
responsibilities for the approval of the loan: 1) land owner; 2) homeowners
association; 3) originator (accredited by the NHMFC, may be an NGO, LGU,
national government agency or corporation); and 4) the Socialized Housing
and Finance Corporation.

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES | Remy | 17

Voters registration gone bad

In 1986, Remy and her husband,
together with their three children,
moved to Zambales from Surigao
del Norte in search of a more
peaceful community and better
work opportunities. The Subic
Military Base in Zambales
generated jobs for many, including
Remys husband who still works to
this day as a welder supervisor in a
ship repair facility in the former
military base area. Subic was also
ideal for fishers due to the then
availability of idle lands close to the
sea, which attracted transient
fisherfolks to build permanent
settlements in the area. This
resulted in the establishment of
smaller villages including Sitio
Cabangaan where Remy and her
family reside, which is part of the
larger Barangay Cawag. Back then,
Remy recalls, they only had to
secure permit from the leader

of the nearest barangay in order

to build a house in Barangay
Cawag. Remy says their part of
the village used to be deserted
and thickly covered with wild
bushes. Today Barangay Cawag
is home to 1,938 families including
Remys seven children, with easy
access to basic health and social
services. Unfortunately, the
permission to build a house from
the barangay leader back in the
80s came with a priceRemy and
her family can stay in the nearby
village but they will be registered as
his constituents so they can vote
for him during elections.
The problem with this unspoken
agreement has finally emerged
when the Commission on Elections
(COMELEC) called for a barangay
meeting in 2003 to validate its
existing records of registered voters
in the area.

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES | Remy | 18

The COMELEC advised Remy and

her village neighbors to get listed
under the barangay where they are
actually residing. Implications of
this led to disputes concerning their
villages proper political boundary,
which affected their use of the
more accessible health and social
services. But later in the same
year, the people of Sitio Cabangaan
had to face a much bigger tenurial
conflict when someone announced
a rightful claim of the land where
Remys house had stood for the
past 17 years.
Making informed decisions
Along with the declaration of the
supposed-owner came support
from a foundation offering to act as
the originator or guarantor for the
residents of the land in question so
they can opt for the Community
Mortgage Program; this option will

enable them to claim rights

to the land through
a meager monthly mortgage,
with assistance from the local
government and other sector
representatives. Through the
Community Mortgage Program,
residents will not be displaced,
hence allowing them to stick to
their livelihoods and enabling them
to pay the required mortgage.
Although many of the residents of
Sitio Cabangaan are laborers of a
ship repair facility in the area,
most residents are still fishers.

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES | Remy | 19

The foundation as the originator

has the duty to provide the
residents with proper orientation
on the CMP. Some residents
immediately applied for the CMP
following the orientation. But the
concept of paying mortgage or rent
for a place that has served as home
for years is a difficult compromise
for many of the affected residents.
Moreover, many residents were
doubtful of the accuracy of the
information given to them by the
foundation and preferred to heed
the advice of other influential
people. These resulted in the
formation of a break-away homeowners association, the Balon
Homeowners Association (BHOA),
which Remy and her husband
ended up heading as adviser and
president, respectively.

Before SIKATs involvement in the

Sitio Cabangaan settlement problem, Remys group was acting upon
the advice of a political figure and
other hearsays that encouraged
them to bring the case to court.
After a series of court proceedings,
their outcomes not only delayed the
process and cost Remy and the
other residents their hard-earned
money and precious time, but they
also resulted in court cases against
them, labeling them as recalcitrant
and unlawful detainers. In 2007,
a federation of fisherfolk organizations in Subic, of which some
members are also involved in the
Task Force Settlement, decided to
bring the tenurial problem of Sitio
Cabangaan to SIKAT for assistance.
By this time, there were already
pending court cases against some
of the residents, including Remy
and her husband. Nonetheless,

SIKAT found ways to address the

residents lack of proper information
to guide them in their future
actions. Orientation seminars were
organized, including paralegal
trainings, and planning sessions
with the residents were held for a
more strategic approach to the
issue. Researches on the case and
the settlement area were also
conducted, along with negotiations
with the legal owner.
With the right information and
paralegal assistance from SIKAT,
the better-informed members of
the Balon Homeowners Association
have finally entered into an agreement to sign up for the Community
Mortgage Program in 2009. This
also resulted in the withdrawal by
the legal owner of filed court cases
against some of the residents.

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES | Remy | 21

Hard-earned life lessons

Those residents in Sitio Cabangaan
are illiterate, that is why they have
their own opinion! Remy painfully
remembers what the land owner
told the judge during one of the
court proceedings. I wanted to
shout back, Not everyone!. Remy
shares that she graduated as
Valedictorian in high school but she
decided not to pursue college
because she wanted to help her
parents in supporting her other
siblings. Because of our experience
I wish I had persevered, and
maybe even took up law! Remy
laughs at her dream of continuing
her education at 54. On a more
serious note, she adds why, Many
of my neighbors come to me for
advice. Their arguments about the
case seem right to me, but because
I did not finish my education and I
do not know the law, I cannot to do

anything to help them.

Remy discloses that her feelings
of self-pity are due to their
experience, but says it has taught
her to be more questioning and
resourceful when it comes to
dealing with their problems, rather
than simply depending on others
for instant solutions.
As adviser and president of the
BHOA, Remy and her husband
spend a lot of time facilitating the
processing of their documents and
of their fellow residents in order to
apply for the CMP.
Remys 22-year-old daughter
Giesha shares that she and her
other siblings used to complain that
their parents are out most of the
time attending to their neighbors
needs. But when she attended one
of their meetings, Giesha realized

the value of her parents role in

the association.
We all have the same problem
but if my parents will not do their
share then we will all end up living
on the streets, homeless.
This realization encouraged Giesha
to assist her parents by posting
flyers in their area to announce the
upcoming BHOA meetings. Giesha
says she never thought that a
document can be so important
and could bring them so much
suffering, but admits she feels more
confident now about their situation
because they are better equipped
with the right information.

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES | Remy | 23

Going beyond the household

Twenty-five-year-old Sherlyn
Tadeo, a mother of three and close
neighbor of Remy, counts on her
husband to deal with their tenurial
problem because she has to attend
to her children. Still she recalls that
among their earlier mistakes is
paying a monthly mortgage to the
wrong people because they were
misguided. These days, they trust
the information they acquire through
Remy.
Unlike Sherlyn, however, Remy
believes that as a wife, she can do
more than just attend to her household duties. She says she can earn a
livelihood for her family, too,
through vegetable garden and
herbal medicine, and she wants
other women to feel the same.

Apart from acting as the adviser to

the BHOA, Remy has been volunteering as a barangay health worker
most of her life attending to the
health education and nutrition
information needs of her community.
Although she did not win as a
Kagawad in the last election, she
was satisfied with the support of her
own community due to her landslide
victory in her area; she lost to 17
votes from the neighboring village.
Losing the election has not
discouraged Remy from continuing
her community involvements.
My barangay assignments make me
happy because they make me forget
my own problems. Remy shares she
prefers to be of service to people in
need and be able to do something
for others, rather than stay at home
and dwell on her own problems, and
become unable to do anything of
worth.

Sherlyn Tadeo recalls paying to the

wrong people for their monthly
mortgage.

Marlyn
Even though it took them 10 years,
Marlyn Calderon still feels they had
it easy when it came to acquiring
legal rights to their land in comparison with the other barangays in
Zambales still struggling with their
settlement cases. This is mainly
because their area turned out to be
a land owned by the government,
rather than by a private claimant.
Their more fortunate case,
however, did not stop Marlyn from
taking part in the Task Force
Settlement and seeking more
knowledge about the issue,
enabling her to participate in the
ongoing fisherfolk advocacy and to
share her understanding of the
issue with those who need it more.
Handog Titulo
Talks about the land title status of
Sitio Agoho, a fishing village in
Barangay San Isidro of Cabangan,

Zambales, first emerged as early

as the 1980s. SIKAT was not even
around at the time, and the
residents, unaware of the strength
of collective efforts, were acting on
the basis of different information
and advice from almost anyone.
With SIKATs entry in the community in the mid-1990s came the
organization of the Katipunan ng
mga Mangingisda ng SIKAT (KMS),
a federation of fisherfolk organizations in the area. SIKATs initial
assistance in their pilot area
involved micro-finance, livelihood
and resource management through
the peoples organization.
In 2008, Marlyn and 20 other
families settling in Sitio Agoho have
been awarded with the free patent
titles to their lands through Handog
Titulo (meaning Awarding of
Title), a continuing program of the

Marlyn Calderon shares that a house is

important in keeping a family together.

Model 3: Miscellaneous Sales Patent (MSPA)

and Free Patent Application (FPA)
This tenurial security strategy using the MSPA and FPA is implemented
through applications for the alienable and disposable land owned by the
government: the MSPA is mainly for the purpose of residential use,
and with corresponding reasonable payment; the FPA is for agricultural use,
but for residential as well, based on Batas Pambansa No. 223 or An Act
to hasten titling of residential lands of the public domain by authorizing the
grant of free patent under certain conditions and providing for expeditious
cadastral and other judicial proceeding with respect thereto and for other
purposes. The common issues in applying for MSPA and FPA involve:
a) the financial capacity of the fisherfolk to pay the land survey fee and buy
the land under the MSPA (as a government program, the land is priced
at the lowest assessed value); b) applicants knowledge on title application;
and, c) other claimants of the land in question.

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES | Marlyn | 27

government to promote social

justice and help poor Filipinos
uplift their living conditions. With
support from SIKAT, it took the
Sitio Agoho residents 10 years
of coordination with the local
government unit and government
agencies to acquire a free patent
title, by exploring the Miscellaneous
Sales Patent and Free Patent
tenurial security tools. Their
success story also involved series
of community activities, such
as lot surveys, preparation and
submission of affidavit of
occupancy (of more than 10 years),
joint affidavits of adjacent houses
per resident, barangay certificates
attesting each residents occupancy
in the survey lot/s, among many
other tedious procedures.
With the ongoing campaign to
secure fisherfolk settlements,
residents of Sitio Agoho continue to

share their experience with others,

hoping to replicate their success in
other fishing villages.
Partnership is key
Marlyn shares that the Office of
the Mayor played a key role in
the residents application for free
patent titles given that their settlement stands on a public land.
While fisherfolk settlement is
provided for in the Republic Act
8550 or The Philippine Fisheries
Code of 1998, it remains to be
put in practice due to lack of
implementing guidelines.
Even without the implementing
guidelines in the Republic Act 8550,
LGUs can already start taking action
on these issues as mandated by the
Local Government Code of the
Philippines. According to MFARMCSubic Chair Laureano Artagami,
LGU officials can act on the
fisherfolk settlement issue given

other existing local government

directives.
In all of its program initiatives,
SIKAT works in partnership with
the different sectors. The only
way to engage and make the
different sectors own any of our
community-based programs is to
build partnerships with them.
This way we can ensure the
sustainability of our initiatives long
before we have gone to other areas
to replicate the process. Executive
Director Chito Dugan reveals one
of SIKATs work principles.
For the fisherfolk settlement
advocacy, one of the SIKAT
projects objectives is to educate
the different sectors, including the
local government officials, on the
issues in tenurial security and the
corresponding tools or instruments
(e.g. policies, ordinances, etc)

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES | Marlyn | 29

that can address these.

The political will of LGU officials and
a strong collaboration with the
sector are important factors in
securing tenurial rights for the
fisherfolks.
Marlyn and SIKAT
through the years
Marlyns daughter was only five
years old when Marlyn got initially
involved with the work of SIKAT in
their community. This daughter is
now 24 years old and Marlyn still
continues to be an agent of change
in Barangay San Isidro. Her four
children are also involved in her
community activities, hence she
gets their full support, including
that of her fisher-husband, in
doing what she loves. At 55, Marlyn
says she has been involved with
SIKATs work since the organization
first came in their area 20 years

ago. She manages a community

center which used to be SIKATs
field office before it was turned
over to their organization in 2000.
Now the president of the Katipunan
ng mga Mangingisda ng SIKAT,
Marlyn reveals she would not be
the person that she is now if not
for SIKAT.
As a wife of a fisherman and a
fish vendor, the recognition she
gets from her community makes it
very easy for Marlyn to sell all her
fish and products in a flash. But
according to Marlyn, this livelihood
advantage is nothing compared to
the acknowledgment she gets from
people of various profiles outside
her own village.
I am often asked to speak to a
group of people to talk about how
we, as a community, are taking on

our social problems, including the

fisherfolk settlement issue.
Universities and other organizations
based in Manila, the countrys
capital, often come to Marlyn,
as fisherfolk and community
representative, for their socio-civic
programs.
Marlyn is often amazed at the type
of people she has come to meet
and deal with over the years.
Imagine someone like me, who
only got to finish grade six in
school, talking to these people?
Marlyn shares she is often a host
parent to students from prestigious
universities in Manila for their
community immersion activities.
One summer, one of my children
turned out to be the nephew of the
Philippine president!

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES | Marlyn | 30

Marlyn admits to taking pride in

being addressed as the president
of her long-time organization, the
KMS. She is often urged to run for
office in her barangay but Marlyn
says she does not need to be
in politics in order to serve her
community. Nonetheless, Marlyns
involvement with SIKATs work has
led to her membership in many
other peoples organizations in the
area, and has linked her to relevant
government agencies. Whereas
she used to shy away from people
before, today, Marlyn often acts as
consultant and adviser to other
residents on their various problems.
Marlyn shares she often finds
herself reprimanding some men in
their village who she finds guilty of
domestic violence. Since the men
are well-aware of her connections
with the Department of Social

Welfare and Services, they take

heed of Marlyns warning of
reporting them to the authorities.
Her active involvement in the Task
Force Settlement, on the other
hand, has certainly enhanced her
paralegal skills. She talks about a
woman in her village who came to
her feeling threatened because
someone else is claiming rights
to her land. Marlyn assured her
terrified neighbor that for as long
as the land title is under her name,
then she has nothing to worry
about. Before she got the free
patent title to their land, Marlyn
says she felt constantly alarmed
of the possibility of losing their
home. Today, she no longer fears
for their tenurial security. A house
is important in keeping the family
together, is Marlyns simple
explanation why she continues
to be a member of the Task Force

Settlement years after her own

settlement problem has been
resolved.

Sally
Sixty-one-year-old Sally Franco
Ruiz is the legal owner of the land
where her house stands and does
not have tenurial rights problem
as do many families in her area.
This, however, has not deterred
Sally from getting involved in
the struggle of most coastal
communities and advocating for
fisherfolk settlement, not only in
the local level, but also in national
policymaking forums.
The complex case of Bague
It all started with Sitio Bague.
During the National Conference
on Fisherfolk Settlement held in
February 2010, organized by
SIKAT in cooperation with the
Philippine Locally-Managed Marine
Area Network, Sally presented the
fisherfolk settlement case of Sitio
Bague to more than 50 conference
participants representing different

fisherfolk organizations all over the

country.
Sally said that through the years,
Sitio Bague has resorted to various
tenurial security strategies given
the constant change in legal
ownership of the land, and the
Poor financial capacity of the Bague
residents. SIKATs involvement
in the issue has commenced in
2001. A local unit of Task Force
Settlement was formed, and the
communitys fisherfolk organization
has become actively involved in
the task forces advocacy activities.
Through series and continuous
consultations, orientations,
dialogues, organizing and
networking activities, tenurial
Security options for the Bague
residents include engaging in a
Community Mortgage Program or to
push for the integration of Bague in

Sally Franco Ruiz shares that she is

now identifying and training a new
batch of leaders to take on her tasks
and continue what she has started.

Model 4: Integration of Fisherfolk Settlement in Local Government Policies

This model involves use of different strategies pending on the local development context of the area in question (e.g. settlement near a mangrove area, within the foreshore land or in a small island, etc). Each approach also has its own procedures,
as well as advantages and constraints.

Comprehensive Land, Water and Forest Use Plan (CLWFUP)

CLWFUP aims to identify specific zones for fisherfolk settlement to limit other coastal zone use. By integrating CLWFUP in local
policies, fishers will be protected against possible land use conversion and possible displacement. This strategy involves
educating the local government unit (LGU) on the status of fisherfolk settlement in the municipality.

Comprehensive Municipal Fisheries Ordinance (CMFO)

CMFO provides a comprehensive assessment of coastal zone and their management unit including both marine and land areas.
The CMFO has a legal basis in Article 16, Section 78 or Fisherfolk Settlement of Republic Act 8550. This policy will assist the
LGU in formulating a fisherfolk settlement program, resulting in a change of perception among LGU officials and start
recognizing the fisherfolk as a sector of their municipality.

Fisherfolk Settlement Ordinance (FSO)

FSO provides the fisherfolks an avenue to secure settlement through the designation of a specific area for fisherfolks.

Inventory of Public Land

The inventory of public lands is crucial in the implementation of the CLWFUP, CMFO or the FSO. The inventory is the
fundamental source of data in identifying lands that can be tapped as fisherfolk settlements. Most of the time, the actual status
or information concerning the fisherfolks current settlement is unclear and misleading, hence the need for a more reliable data.
The two primary procedures in doing an inventory are: 1) choosing or identifying possible areas for new fisherfolk settlement
based on the real status of their current settlement; and 2) ensuring the status of the fisherfolks current tenurial area and the
identified resettlement area.

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES | Sally | 33

a local government policy and

have Bague declared as a fisherfolk
settlement under the Comprehensive Land, Water and Forest
Use Plan.
As the elected chair of her localitys
Municipal Fisheries and Aquatic
Resource Management Council, and
secretary of its provincial unit, Sally
oversees the fishing and aquatic
resources concerns of 16 barangays
in Zambales (all of which are
coastal communities, many are
confronted with distinctive issues of
tenurial security), including Sitio
Bague. She recounts her countless
participation in dialogues with
members of different barangays,
local government officials and land
owners to facilitate the still ongoing
procedures, which have started way
back in 2000.
Bague is not a simple case

because the community is divided

in choosing options but I am
hopeful that a consensus will soon
be achieved. Sally says that her
involvement in the case of Sitio
Bague marked the beginning of
her continuing fight for fisherfolk
settlement.

activities. Sally takes pride in this

achievement as a member of the
SIKAT Technical Working Group,
which was the key proponent of
the ordinance. She says her love for
the ocean, and its vast resources,
is more than enough reason
for her to want to protect it.

From the community

to national
In 2005, the Municipal Fisheries
Ordinance No. 23-A of 2003 or
The New Candelaria Fisheries
Development and Management
Ordinance of 2003, drafted
by SIKAT, was approved for
implementation by the local
government after years of lobbying.

But Sallys lobbying efforts are

not limited to the municipal,
or even provincial, level.
She is able to raise awareness on
fisherfolk settlement issues at the
national level as Fisherfolk Director
of Region III, representing her
local fisherfolk organization.
In a national conference, organized
by the Bureau of Fisheries and
Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Sally
realized that the case of Sitio Bague
and other fishing barangays in
Zambales is shared by most coastal
communities all over the
Philippines, and yet very little

The local ordinance has already

resulted in the establishment
of marine protected areas and
it supports our volunteer patrolling
efforts against illegal fishing

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES | Sally | 35

attention is being given to fisherfolk

settlement issues. Also an active
member of Task Force Settlement,
Sally has a good grasp of the
tenurial issues on the ground to
share with larger audiences. As
Sally found allies in other regional
representatives in the conference,
she shares becoming one of the
proponents for the establishment
of the Committee on Fisherfolk
Settlement and Climate Change,
under the Philippines National
Anti-Poverty Commission.
The politics of advocating
for policies
While Sally is successful in bringing
her fisherfolk advocacy with her as
she finds her way into national
committees, SIKAT goes back to
local channels for more-immediate
enactment of equally significant
fishing ordinances.

SIKAT has been advocating for

fisherfolk tenurial security for years
in response to the growing trend of
fishers displacement in the coastal
areas brought about by changing
land use pattern, due to increasing
market value of land in coastal
zones among other development
factors. The project funding support
from Oxfam Hong Kong has allowed
SIKAT to conduct researches on
land and housing-related laws,
produce case studies and other
information materials on fisherfolk

settlement, and popularize legal

and metalegal tenurial tools.
Coastal resource management
practitioners, including fisherfolk
communities, have gained
knowledge and understanding
of fisherfolk settlement issues
in the Philippines along with the
corresponding strategies to secure
tenurial rights, through the capacity
building activities organized
by SIKAT.
But advocating for policies also
entails constituency-building and
networking to establish a broad
sectoral-and mass-based support.
In pushing for national policy
reforms, SIKAT collaborates with
the National Fisheries Reform,
as well as other national coalitions
and networks advocating for fisherfolk settlement. Accomplishments
in this area include the development of proposed policy papers,

exploration of tenurial instruments,

influencing and putting pressure
to the government to address
the issue, and drafting of
recommendations for the
implementing rules and regulations
of already existing relevant laws.
SIKATs coordination with government agencies, such as the
Department of Environment
and Natural Resources, Department
of Agriculture, Land Management
Bureau, and House and Land
Administration Bureau, is vital
in these lobbying efforts.
Unfortunately, the turbulent
dynamics of politics in the country
and other seemingly more pressing
cases against controversial
government officials greatly
influence the legislature priorities
and proceedings, pushing aside
SIKATs national advocacy for
fisherfolk settlement.
Hence, SIKAT has decided to

redirect its lobbying to the local level

through the integration of fisherfolk
settlement concern in local
government policies, specifically in
the Comprehensive Land, Water
and Forest Use Plan,
the Comprehensive Municipal
Fisheries Ordinance and
the Fisherfolk Settlement Ordinance.
SIKATs localization of
fisherfolk settlement campaign
Further includes Inventory of
Public Land, which enables the
identification of possible settlement
sites for the fishers, and is
necessary for the implementation
of the CLWFUP, CMFO and FSO.
These local approaches to advocacy
are already being employed
by SIKAT in different coastal
communities pending on the local
development context of the areas.

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES | Sally | 37

Affected vs. Not affected

Sally says that one need not be a
wife of a fisherman (Sallys husband
is a retired municipal employee),
or a fish vendor (Sallys fishpond
is strictly for family consumption)

to be concerned about issues

surrounding the fishing sector.
The Task Force Settlement is
composed of members who are
directly affected by the fisherfolk

settlement issue, as well as those

who are not directly affected, like
Sally. In a recent SIKAT workshop,
among the reasons for joining the
task force of those who are not
directly affected are: to offer
help to the fishers and to the
community; to acquire knowledge
on tenurial security since members
of the community come to them for
advice and information; to gain
personal knowledge on the issue;
and, to be of service to others
rather than doing nothing
worthwhile at home. Due to their
involvement in the task force, the
same members disclosed that some
of them have become resource
persons for affected members of
their communities, causing them
stress at times because this
competes with their personal time
for families.

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES| Sally | 38

Some started to feel the weight of

the communitys problem on their
shoulders. Still, others felt proud to
be approached for information, and
the rest felt good to be able to help
despite the additional work on their
part.
Meanwhile, the TFS members
who are directly affected by the
settlement problem had more
obvious reasons for joining, such as
to know how to acquire legal rights
to their land. But there are others
who said that they also want
to help their fellow residents
struggling with the same problem.
Despite their time-consuming
activities in the task force, both
the affected and not affected
TFS members shared having reaped
the same benefits of being part of
the task force, and of the advocacy.
These involve: acquiring more

knowledge; feeling more confident

due to increased knowledge;
becoming community leader
or better leader; being more
recognized/ popular in the
community; learning to research/
be resourceful/ be more cautious
before taking any action; and,
wanting to be of help to others
more/ being unable to resist
helping others.
Simply Sally
Some people now address me as
madame but I tell them to still call
me Sally. Yet on hindsight, this
recent change tells me how I am
now regarded by members of the
communities, and it does make me
feel good to realize what I have
become to others. Sally shyly
confesses as she is prompted to
share some of the personal benefits
of her community involvements.
I think they address me as such

out of respect because they can

feel my sincere concern for them.
She adds that she also gained more
friends through her advocacy work.
Full-time-housewife-turnedfisherfolk-settlement-lobbyist Sally
strongly believes that her husbands
recent venture in politics as
Barangay Kagawad has been
greatly inspired by her own
membership in several peoples
organizations and committees at
different levels.

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES | Sally | 39

She and her husband now share

useful information and collaborate
for various community projects
concerning fisherfolks and others.
A mother of seven, Sally shares that
she gets text messages from her
31-year-old daughter telling her
how proud she is of her mothers
achievements.
Of her many contributions to the
fishers cause, Sally reveals that
the implementation of a municipal
fisheries ordinance of which she is
part-proponent, through SIKAT,
makes her the proudest. It gave
me the voice to talk about fisherfolk
issues in our local communities.
Meantime, she adds that acquiring
paralegal trainings on tenurial
security from SIKAT has given her
the confidence to discuss the matter
in higher-level forums. SIKATs
gender mainstreaming initiatives

across its programs, including the

fisherfolk settlement project, have
also increased Sallys understanding
of the legal issues involved in
violence against women. This has
encouraged Sally to talk about the
issue with women, as well with men.
I think men should even be more
informed on this campaign, explains
Sally why she wants more men to be
involved in her other advocacy. Now
that Sally is well-aware of her basic
human rights, she wants others to
feel empowered, too.

own money to make copies of the

municipal fisheries ordinance in order
to disseminate the information in her
area. Yet Sally says all her efforts for
others have also led to personal
benefits, including opportunities to
participate in various trainings
(locally and nationally, allowing her
to travel around while building her
own capacity), and a livelihood grant
from BFAR for her familys fishpond
and livestock.

Because my various roles in

the communities have made me
a happier and better person, I want
Through more SIKAT trainings,
others to experience the same
Sally has become equipped with
planning and proposal making skills fulfillment. Sally shares that she is
now identifying and training a new
expertise she never acquired from
batch of leaders to take on her tasks
her vocational course on bookand, hopefully, continue what she
keeping enabling her to secure
has started.
regular government funding for her
community activities. Sally
remembers having to spend her

SIKATS CONTRIBUTION TO RESPONSIBLE WELLBEING

Wellbeing, in the words of SIKAT
staff and stakeholders, is when a
person has inner peace, is able
to meet basic needs, is able to
participate in community activities,
and is residing in a peaceful
environment. In the context of the
SIKAT fisherfolk settlement project,
wellbeing is being able to live in
peace in ones own home for as
long as it takes, and secure in the
fact that no one else has the right
to claim ownership over ones
property.
In the featured case stories,
Myrna shared how she could not
sleep at night, or work during the
day, because she was worried all
the time of the possibility of being
homeless; Remy could still not keep
herself from crying when she was
reminded of the trauma of their
demolition experience, and
disclosed her feelings of self pity;

Marlyn explained her immense

confidence in a document that
provides protection and allows one
to live peacefully in ones home;
and, Sally demonstrated how one
persons involvement in fisherfolk
settlement can benefit thousands
of affected residents.
Just like Myrna, Remy, Marlyn
and Sally, the lack of tenurial
security continues to affect the
wellbeing of fisherfolk families all
over the coastal communities
of the Philippines.
Lack of knowledge and understanding [(-) self-esteem] of the legal
issues surrounding fisherfolk settlement tops the key reasons why
many of the affected residents feel
disempowered [(-) self-esteem] to
deal with their community problem.
Other factors that constantly daunt
the fisherfolks are lack of

confidence to deal with the land

owners and the authorities
[(-) self-esteem], lack of money
to pursue the necessary legal
procedures [(-) self-sustenance],
and lack of collective efforts to deal
with a communitys common
problem [(-) social responsibility].
Along with these missing wellbeing
attributes are the residents
acquired, if not strengthened,
feelings of vulnerability of losing
their homes and livelihoods
or access to resources [(-) selfsustenance], lack of peace and
security [(-) social responsibility],
lack of solidarity [(-) social responsibility], lack of social justice
[(-) self-determination], and many
other characteristics that impact
negatively on peoples wellbeing.
Therefore, has the SIKATs
Fisherfolk Settlement Advocacy and
Model-Building Project contributed

to these peoples wellbeing?

Indeed, the cases of Myrna, Remy,
Marlyn and Sally showed evidences
of change that support the affirmative.
The Task Force Settlement embodies
the varying efforts and support of SIKAT
in the fisherfolk settlement project. Its
members, whose capacity have been
developed to take on the tasks, have
been equipped with the necessary
information, training, as well as the
appropriate tenurial security tools
through the different models developed
by SIKAT. While the formation of the
Task Force Settlement, led by SIKAT,
has resulted in many positive outcomes
in the cases of the fishing villages faced
with settlement problems, the
strengthening of the task force
members capacity, through the paralegal trainings organized by SIKAT, has
produced positive impacts on the
featured womens wellbeing.

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES | SIKATs Contribution to Responsible Wellbeing | 43

Equipped with the right information

and greater understanding of the
issue [(+) self-esteem], the four
womenall being active members
of the Task Force Settlementhave
attested to acquiring confidence in
their capacities [(+) self-esteem]
to take on lead roles in the fisherfolk settlement advocacy in their
respective communities, and
beyond. Their involvements in
SIKATs work, in general, and in the
fisherfolk settlement advocacy, in
particular, have earned them
the respect of their families and
members of the communities
[(+) self-esteem], and have also
led to their further participation in
other community and coastal resource management issues
[(+) social responsibility], enabling
them to be of help to many others
[(+) social responsibility]. In a still
male-dominated Philippine society
and fishing industry, these women

have earned the respect, confidence and support of their husbands, and other men in their com-

munities [(+) self-esteem, selfdetermination]. Feelings of inner

peace [(+) self-esteem], having
security of land and livelihoods
[(+) self-sustenance], being of
service to others [(+) social responsibility], and happiness [(+) selfesteem] have encouraged these
women to continue their active

involvement in the fisherfolk settlement advocacy [(+) social responsibility], and to find the next line of
leaders for them to achieve the
same positive feelings they have
gained through their advocacy and
community work [(+) social responsibility]. Most importantly, while
gaining personal benefits, including
livelihood support for their families,
the work of these women have
positively influenced the wellbeing
of many other affected fisherfolks.
Such were the cases of the
interviewed fisherman (Edgar),
neighbor (Sherlyn) or daughter
(Giesha), who all seemed to feel at
peace and less vulnerable [(+selfesteem, self-sustenance], knowing
that their women leaders, or
mothers, are in control of their
tenurial situations.

The illustrated interplay of different

attributes of the four dimensions
of responsible wellbeing (i.e. selfsustenance, self-esteem,
self-determination and social
responsibility), as presented in the
above analysis, has reinforced
Oxfam Hong Kongs adopted
framework of responsible wellbeing.
One finding of interest, however,
based on interviews with the
featured women, which was further
validated by a survey conducted
among task force members, is how
the peoples involvement in the
fisherfolk settlement advocacy
have led to reduced time for their
personal relaxation [(-) selfsustenance], and sometimes, even
for family obligations. And yet, the
task force members seem to find
the value of their work for a larger
number of beneficiaries, apart from
their own families, a more satisfactory compensation for their lost time

forleisure. This could be due to the

support that the women and other
task force members are getting from
their own families, and the recognition of their efforts by the rest of
the communities [(+) self-esteem,
social responsibility].
Finally, the stories of Myrna,
Remy, Marlyn and Sally, along
with the presented analysis, have
demonstrated how SIKATs efforts
in fisherfolk settlement, particularly
through the formation and strengthening of the Task Force Settlement,
have significantly and positively
contributed to the responsible
wellbeing of its stakeholders in
Zambales. And when SIKATs
Fisherfolk Settlement Advocacy and
Model Building Project in Zambales
officially ends in 2011, members of
the Task Force Settlement will still
be around to continue the tasks at
hand.

MAKING IT HAPPEN
SIKAT works with 13 communities
in Zambales on issues concerning
fisherfolk tenurial security. Its
experience through the years has
proven the following actions to be
vital to achieving progress and
success in addressing fisherfolk
settlement issues:
Advocacy from local to national
policymaking bodies. Policy
advocacy can take many forms,
and happen through various
forums. From pushing for local
municipal fisheries ordinances, to
establishing a national committee
on fisherfolk settlement, influencing
policies is important to strengthen
the call for fisherfolk tenurial
security and access appropriate
support for the fisherfolks, not only
in selected municipalities but for
all the fisherfolk communities
nationwide.

Awareness-raising activities.
The key to making fisherfolks
understand their settlement
situation, in order to mobilize them,
is to provide them with the
essential information. Apart from

demystifying their common

misconceptions about tenurial
security, appropriate actions and
possible options must also be
provided and explained to them.

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES | Making It Happen | 46

Community organizing and

capacity building. The formation
and strengthening of the Task
Force Settlement have presented
clear, positive manifestations of
how organizing the people into an
able body and building the capacity
of its members to perform the
necessary tasks in resolving their
community problem can bring
success.

Dialogues, consultations,
negotiations. Series of meetings
with key stakeholders are necessary
to discuss, clarify and ultimately,
resolve pending issues surrounding
fisherfolk settlement. These
activities must also involve land
owners in order to gain their
understanding, and even possibly
their support, on the issues
at hand.

Coordination/partnership with
LGUs and relevant agencies.
Establishing good relations with
relevant government officials and
authorities not only hastens the
involved proceedings for securing
land titles or tenurial rights for
fishers, but more importantly,
results in greater support for the
fisherfolk settlement advocacy.

Participatory planning. Planning

activities involving the fisherfolk
communities and other representatives of key sectors yield a more
united decision and a more
strategic course of action in
addressing the various challenges
that come with fisherfolk tenurial
security.

Research. This involves gathering

of necessary information on the
relevant laws for policy advocacy
and model-building, as well as
exploring of legal/metalegal and
other tenurial tools on how to
secure fisherfolk settlement.
Research also includes inventory
of public lands in order to: identify
the status of fisherfolk settlement
in selected areas; identify public
lands; develop lobbying strategies;
and, hone the researching skills
of fisherfolks.
Technical and legal support.
Considering the legal implications
of tenurial security, law experts
and authorities on the matter are
consulted for proper advice and
information, in order to guide
SIKAT and the fisherfolks in the
right direction.

Appendix 1
DEMYSTIFYING
MISCONCEPTIONS
We have been staying here
for a long time so we cannot
be evicted from this land.
A land can be titled to residents
even if they are not occupying the
area; it can also be sold or transferred to the land owners relatives.
Based on a research conducted by
SIKAT, 75% of the public lands are
titled, 20% are claimed, and the
remaining 5 % are adjacent to
titled lands.
We do not have to pay for this
land because we have been
living here for a long time.
The issue of paying for or buying
a property, which has been
considered home for years, is a
very difficult compromise for the
fisherfolks. However, the law only
recognizes claimants or owners

possessing land title/s as those with

legal rights over a property. Tax
receipts do not serve as proof of
ownership and are only needed
to verify the duration of the
occupants stay in the property.

We are the owners of this

land since we are paying for
the tax.
In reality, the local government can
accept or receive tax payment from
almost anybody.

TOWARDS SECURING FISHERFOLK SETTLEMENT: LESSONS FROM ZAMBALES | Appendix 1: Demystifying Misconceptions | 48

We used to have an
agreement with the owner
that we can stay here for as
long as we want.
Agreements should be made in
writing to legitimize claims or
agreements with the owner. Heirs,
children or other relatives of
the current land owner may not
recognize merely spoken or verbal
agreements. The new owner has
the right to notify current settlers to
vacate the property once intended
for other purposes.
The land owner is hard to talk
to. We will just have to fight
over this land.
Based on experience, there are land
owners who are willing and open to
negotiations with the settlers; On
the other hand, there are occupants
who tend to be confrontational and
are not willing to engage in
dialogues with the owner.

Processing of papers or
land titles is very costly
and tedious.
It is more expensive and timeconsuming when there are disputes
over a property, which are not
settled through negotiations.

This land we occupy is owned

by the government, hence,
we will not be evicted from
this land.
The government or the land owners
adjacent to the property still have
access to such land for future use.

We are content here, besides

no one is telling us to leave the
property.
Users of foreshore land and the
value of land continue to increase,
hence, interest in such properties
will also continue to grow.

There are still vacant lots in

the foreshore area so we can
just move to other idle lands
when we are told to vacate
this land.
In reality, most of the lands in the
foreshore area are either privately
owned or with already, existing
claimants.

This land is ours since we

developed and cultivated it.
Even though the settlers have
made improvements on a property,
the law still gives priority to the
land owner adjacent to the property, who has the riparian rights.

Appendix 2
LIST OF ACRONYMS
BFAR

Bureau of Fisheries and

Aquatic Resources

DENR

Department of Environment
and Natural Resources

BHOA

Balon Homeowners
Association

FPA

Free Patent Application

FSO

Fisherfolk Settlement
Ordinance

KMS

Katipunan ng mga
Mangingisda ng SIKAT

CBCRM Community-Based Coastal

Resource Management
CLWFUP Comprehensive Land,
Water and Forest Use Plan
CMFO

CMP

Comprehensive Municipal
Fisheries Ordinance
Community Mortgage
Program

COMELEC Commission on Elections

LGU

Local Government Unit

LMB

Land Management Bureau

MFARMC Municipal Fisheries

and Aquatic Resource
Management Council

MSPA

Miscellaneous Sales Patent

NGO

Non-Government
Organization

NHMFC National Housing

and Mortgage Finance
Corporation
OHK

Oxfam Hong Kong

SIKAT Sentro para sa Ikauunlad

ng Katutubong Agham
at Teknolohiya
TFS

Task Force Settlement

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My sincerest thanks for the time, support and inspiration in completing this publication to: Myrna Rodriguez,
Remy Loayon, Marlyn Calderon and Sally Franco Ruiz, along with the other members of the Task Force Settlement.
Special thanks are also due to all the other interviewees (Edgar Peregrino, Giesha Loayon, Sherlyn Tadeo)
and participants of the SIKAT Wellbeing Research, which is the basis of this publication.
Finally, my deepest gratitude to the SIKAT team led by Chito Dugan (Executive Director, National Office)
and Cristina Reyes (Program Manager, Zambales Field Office) for their valuable support and for facilitating
the logistics for this research.

Abby Mercado
Researcher-Writer

Front Cover: SIKAT/Marco Ruben T. Malto II;

Page 1/2/3/4/7/9/12/13/14/15/17/18/20/22/23/24/25/28/30/35/37/40/43/45: SIKAT/Marco Ruben T. Malto II;
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