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A clam incident

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About a month ago, my husband Heinz and I went to have a swim at the area of the marine sanctuary in Dauin. We usually go to a place owned by Edith and her son Ken because it is quiet (they do not allow the use of radios). They also have receptacles for you to segregate your waste and there is a lot of shade from their huge talisay trees.

As I was getting ready with my snorkelling gear, a middle age woman walked past and looked at me with more than plain curiosity. She said, “ I believe I know you.” I looked at her trying to figure out where I could have met her. I told her my name. She then said, Ah! Ikaw tong kabahin sa clams. (Ah, you are the one regarding the clams) She introduced herself as a bantay dagat (sea steward).

To recall about 3 years ago, I snorkelled around the marine sanctuary in Dauin while my husband swam to the edge of the reef. As I happily snorkelled, I came across a man underwater with his mask and snorkel. He would come up for a breath and down again in the same place. Curious I decided to watch what he was doing. The water was chest high. I saw then that he was trying to move and dislodge a clam as big as my two hands spread out. As he came up for a breath I said to him, “This is the marine sanctuary and it is forbidden to take anything inside it.” He ignored me and went back to what he was doing moving the clam back and forth. Again I told him to stop. He looked at me angrily and told me he was a resident of that place as if to say that he had a right to take that clam. I told him I will report him to the Bantay Dagat if he did not stop. He angrily left and I watched him as he went ashore. I could not believe that he would actually complain about me to the Bantay Dagat all the while pointing in my direction . “What is going on here?” I said to myself.

Before going home I made sure I got the name of the Bantay Dagat on duty. How do I go about this incident? I let two weeks pass… I went to check the clam again, it was still there. Another two weeks passed, I checked again. The clam is gone.

I decided to write an email letter to the Environment and Natural Resources Division of Negros Oriental (ENRD) recounting the incident and naming the person on duty. I got a response from ENRD saying they are investigating the matter through the Department of Natural Resources office.

For a while after that I did not see the man on duty. The Bantay Dagat station in Dauin slowly deteriorated while the resort nearby encroached into their supposed territory. Their building was abandoned and disappeared in time. The presence of the woman sea steward assured me that their presence is still around and her recall of the “clam incident” gave me the assurance that indeed the matter was taken up.

Lesson learned: It is alright to speak up. If you do not, nobody else will.

_____________________________________

Author’s email: [email protected]

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