Calbiga:

Struggling to Bloom Despite the Odds1

Our environment is
Not God’s gift, but his bequest
Not to us alone, but to all generations
Not just to feed us, but for us to feed as well
Not with our waste, but with our care
Not with greed, but with welfare
Not for now, but forever

Thus reads the moving preamble of the Maqueda Bay Management

Council, an aggrupation of 14 coastal municipalities of Samar that came into
being at the instance of the Municipal Government of Calbiga.
Maqueda Bay is a serene seascape of ineffable beauty, an ecosystem
once pregnant with marine life, upon whose bosom legions of human beings
have depended for survival... until human greed descended upon to impair its
capacity to support life, whether marine or human. Today, the Bay is a
desolate picture of a natural resource struggling to survive, and bloom against
the odds.
Like Calbiga.
A small municipality of about 20,000 inhabitants, Calbiga lies 47
kilometers southwest of the provincial capital of Catbalogan and 60 km
northeast of Tacloban, regional center of Eastern Visayas. Its town center is
located along the Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway that links the Leyte
and Samar Islands to Luzon and Mindanao.
Farming provides the principal source of livelihood. The major crops
are rice, coconut, rootcrops, vegetables and bananas.
Calbiga is largely an upland municipality. Twenty-two of its 41 villages
belong to this typology. As it is, the municipal uplands are open and degraded
in varying degrees. This condition traces its roots to decades of commercial
logging in the area, let alone the sporadic illegal logging activities that
continue to this day. Recent information reveals that forest cover—largely
residual--across 11 upland barangays comes to only about 35%, a level way
below the ideal 54%. Old growth forests represent barely 10%. Some villages
have but grasses for vegetative cover.

1
Penned by Reynaldo B. Almenario, this essay was submitted by the Municipal Government of Calbiga,
Western Samar, Philippines to the 2004 Bursary Awards, an international competition in local
environmental governance hosted by the Netherlands. With this essay, coupled with presentation of moving
videos of the Maqueda Bay, the breath-taking municipal seascape and landscape and other natural wonders,
and the municipal policy to conserve, rehabilitate and protect the environment, the 2004 Bursary Awards
grand prize was awarded to the Municipality of Calbiga. Then Municipal Mayor and presentor Melchor F.
Nacario in the company of his wife, Luzviminda Latorre Nacario, and other concerned Calbiganons,
personally received the grand prize during the awarding ceremonies.
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The prevailing farming system contributes largely to the continuing

degradation of the uplands, affecting as well the lowland and coastal
ecosystems. Short-term crops as vegetables, upland rice, corn and
rootcrops--all of which require a cultivated, clean soil surface--are grown on
sloping, formerly kaingin areas. This practice leaves the soil vulnerable to
erosion during heavy downpours, in effect continually reducing soil fertility. No
wonder then that results of the study prepared for the UNDP-funded Samar
Island Bio-diversity Project (SIBP) would reveal that soil conditions in the
Samar island, Western Samar included, are “poor and infertile”; indeed, this
explains why crop yields in the uplands would be dismally low vis-à-vis the
levels attainable under existing technologies.
On the other hand, sustenance fishing is a major source of income to
four coastal villages within the Maqueda Bay area; other income sources
include nipa shingles making, and provision of bamboo poles for use in house
construction and the making of fishing boats.
The predominant fishing method is bonoan, a kind of fish trap made of
bamboo material and fish net. Use of illegal fishing methods as dynamiting
and baby trawls continues, thereby substantially depleting the marine stock.
Likewise, rampant cutting of mangroves for household and commercial uses
prevails, leaving the marine habitats destroyed. These practices explain, to a
great extent, why fish catch has been on the decline (only 30-40 kg per month
per family), adversely affecting therefore the incomes of the fisherfolks. On
the average, a farming family in Calbiga earns from P140.00 to P984.75
(US$2.59-US$18.23 at P54: US$1) a month, while a fishing family makes
P2,281.75 or roughly US$42.25.
Even as the municipality struggles to rehabilitate its damaged uplands
and coastal areas, and preserve and protect what remain of its natural
birthright from perdition, it is up against certain national environmental policy
contradictions that put to risk existing and past efforts at promoting
sustainable development. Today, 41 mining applications across the Samar
island, two of which have already been approved by the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources, pose a real threat to the capacity of the
Samar environment to support life. The culprit are two contradicting national
proclamations: one declaring certain areas as protected national parks and
the other allowing mining operations within protected areas. Two applications
intend to mine bauxite within Calbiga, in a 12,000-hectare area encroaching
on a forest reservation. Environmental experts warn that extracting the
bauxite reserves of the Samar island, valued at US$21 billion, would
permanently damage at least 25 major river systems because of pollution.
This enormous threat has driven Calbiga’s local chief executive to join the
Samar environmental advocates now actively campaigning for the
preservation and protection of Samar island’s bio-diversity from
environmentally destructive activities such as mining.

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Enhancement of the Landscape

Calbiga is endowed with natural sceneries which, if developed and

promoted, would make it a popular tourist destination in the Philippines.
These natural beauties include: the famed Calbiga caves, which has drawn
local and foreign tourists over the years; the fascinating Lulugayan waterfalls
in Barangay Literon; the breath-taking San Mauricio rapids; Murok-Burok
spring; and the pristine 45-km Calbiga river.
For exceptional reasons, current efforts are focused on the
development of Calbiga’s cathedral caves into an eco-tourism destination.
The Philippines’ largest and reputed to be the world’s third largest, the
Calbiga karst occupies nearly 900 sq. km. in area. It is a system of caves, the
largest of which is the Langun Cave that measures 5 km in length with 5
entrances. Its underground halls are astonishing, its huge galleries never
ranging below 15-20 meters in width and height. For a long stretch, its main
gallery measures more than 50 meters high and 40 meters wide. Over 20
important river tributaries traverse the southern part of the cave, in which
endemic species of blind fish and crab can be found, including rare species of
bats and insects.
In 1997, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
declared the Calbiga caves system a Protected Landscape, after it lost
undetermined tons of precious stalactites and stalagmites to robbers who
were apprehended, but never charged and punished for their crime. The
incumbent local government vows never to let a similar transgression to pass
without applying the full force of the law on violators.
Meanwhile, with little loan and grant funds provided under the
Community-Based Resource Management Project (CBRMP) of the Philippine
Government and the World Bank, works are underway to improve the foot
trails leading to the mouth of the caves; reforest the caves’ surroundings,
thereby protecting the watershed area; construct a visitors’ center, rest
stations, latrines and a viewing deck; develop spelunking route, park trekking
area, rock climbing area and camping site; and acquire tour equipment for
use by eco-tourists.
Already, the first batch of local tourist guides has completed an
intensive training in tourist guidance and management, with the CBRMP and
the UNDP-funded Samar Island Biodiversity Project (SIBP) as sponsors.
Promotion materials are being designed in an effort to effectively market a
menu of eco-tourism products built around the cave system as main
attraction.
In the meantime, the local government is scouting for local and
external investors willing to set up cottage facilities to meet the needs of
external tourists wanting to spend a few days in the municipality. Likewise, it
is deep into the process of acquiring a 20-hectare contiguous property along
the national highway to locate the Calbiga Small Enterprise Park (Spark)
project. Spark, the masterplan of which has been drafted, will promote the
development of small enterprises through the provision of infrastructure

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facilities as food shops, souvenir shops, industrial shops, public market

extension, landing areas, and bus/jeepney terminal, among others.
Spark will house a 15,000 m2 Nature Park and Children’s Playground,
the perimeters and pathways of which would be planted to trees and
ornamentals to create a sound and refreshing environment for its patrons.
With this project, the local government hopes to respond to the needs of the
local and external tourists. It is optimistic that the development of the Calbiga
caves system, let alone its Spark project, would stimulate the local economy,
and create employment and income opportunities for the local population.
Meanwhile, the local people, including picnickers from other
municipalities, enjoy swimming in the pristine waters of the 45-km Calbiga
river that cuts through the town center as it empties into the Maqueda Bay.
Sustained efforts at raising the environmental awareness of the residents
along the river banks have kept the river relatively free from pollution, judging
from its immaculate waters and its abundant aquamarine species.
To prevent erosion of the river banks close to the Poblacion, the local
government installed a river control structure. Concrete steps down the river
bank landing have also been provided to give the resource users access up
and down the river.
Established and maintained by the local government, the Calbiga Tree
Park also enlivens the local people, especially the children. Strolling and
playing under the thick canopies of the mini-forest and watching the birds fly
by or nest in the trees have been the young’s common pastime. Planted to a
variety of commercial trees that include lawaan, mahogany and G-melina
species, the mini-forest stretches from the foot of the hill along the national
highway and ends up close to Barangay Panayuran which leads into the cave
system.
On the other hand, the urban environment has been kept relatively
clean and free from air, land and water pollution. Domestic wastes are
collected twice a day by a team of garbage collectors. Domestic wastes are
disposed into a landfill area, two kilometers away from the human
settlements, agricultural farms, and from rivers and ocean. Through sustained
information and education campaign, a growing number of urban households
see the need to segregate their wastes, and provide and maintain their own
garbage bins.
If awards for being one of Samar’s “greenest and cleanest”
communities over the last five years were any proof of an enhanced
landscape, then Calbiga has rightfully earned such status.

Heritage Management

The local government believes that the life of a community without self-
knowledge or memory is pointless. Truly, without memory, the community
becomes as it were a ship without a captain: just drifting by, lost in the
wilderness of the ocean. In contrast, the community that knows itself--its
beginnings, its joys, sorrows and fears, its dreams and hopes--would know

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where it should be headed. There lies the value of consciously remembering,

preserving and enhancing the community’s heritage.
To perpetuate the heritage of the Calbiganons, the local government
actively collaborates with the Catholic Church in activities geared towards the
preparation for and celebration of a long-standing tradition as the annual town
fiesta. The latter is one special occasion which many Calbiganons living and
working elsewhere would come home to. For this purpose, the local
government organizes and mobilizes a multi-sectoral fiesta committee that
coordinates the planning and oversees the conduct of activities before and
during the fiesta celebration.
A traditional fiesta presentation is the staging of pahoy-pahoy. It is an
original ritual developed and popularized by Calbiga’s rice farmers from the
olden days to dramatize their struggle against insects, pests and birds that
wreak havoc on their standing crops. Pahoy-pahoy refers to human-like
decoys made of cloth and cogon grass; these are tied to either wood or
bamboo poles which are driven into the ground to scare away insects, pests
and birds that feed on the rice crop. An effective instrument, pahoy-pahoy
came to be adopted by rice farmers elsewhere in the Samar and Leyte
islands.
Selection of the Hermana Mayor (HM) for each fiesta is a tradition
preserved by the Calbiganons to this day. The Catholic Church plays an
important role in the HM selection, although anyone can volunteer to serve as
such. Selection is made usually a year before the fiesta to give the HM
adequate time to prepare materially and financially, inasmuch as she is
expected to share the family’s food with the public. A special role is accorded
the HM in the celebration, during which she may be asked to deliver a speech
in public or read the epistle during the Pontifical Mass.
To institutionalize heritage management, the local government
constituted the multi-sectoral Municipal Tourism Council, which is tasked to
systematize the Municipal Museum and collect or retrieve as much historical
records, artifacts and other works of art that capture the grandeur of Calbiga’s
past. Similarly, it organized the municipal Cultural Arts Council. A Calbiganon
who now resides in Metro Manila, Mr. Onding Orlanes has completed a
compilation of original Waray songs and poems which is due for reproduction.
The newly organized Calbiga Theater Arts is well into its development stage,
having performed in a few local venues. In their various stages of planning
are the LGU chorale, a book on the history of the municipality that goes back
as far as the Spanish era, and the composition of a municipal hymn, which
would be done through a municipal-wide song writing competition.

Environmentally Sensitive Practices

To arrest the continuing degradation of the uplands and the coastal

ecosystems that has impaired the capacity of these resources to support the
needs of the present and future generations, the local government has vowed
to carry out the following strategic interventions:

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• Support and develop alternative means of livelihood for upland and

coastal families;
• Sustain the implementation of reforestation and agro-forestry
projects;
• Enhance biodiversity and environmental policy awareness;
• Strictly enforce forestry and fishery laws and regulations;
• Train and deputize village-based forest guards; and
• Develop the capacities of local communities, including the local
government’s, in natural resource management.

In the context of this strategy, the local government has launched an

environmental management program with the following components:

(1) Watershed Management

This component seeks to rehabilitate and protect the municipal

watersheds, thereby ensuring the supply of water for domestic, agricultural,
industrial and commercial uses, while effectively arresting soil erosion. Efforts
in this regard are being exerted under the CBRMP which seeks to: (1) reduce
environmental degradation in the upland and coastal areas; (2) raise family
incomes in 11 upland and 4 coastal communities; (3) support the
development of alternative livelihood; and (4) develop the capacities of the
local communities, including the local government’s, in sustainably managing
their natural resources. With the Sub-Project, 457 hectares of farm lands in 11
barangays are due for agro-forestry development, using the Sloping
Agricultural Land Technology (SALT) that has proved to be effective in
conserving water and minimizing soil erosion. With SALT, soil fertility is
expected to be restored in the medium term, in effect raising agricultural
productivity and farmers’ income.
Parallel efforts are also being exerted under the UNDP-funded SIBP.
The SIBP focuses on enabling the upland communities—through applied
training, community organizing and organizational strengthening--to properly
manage their natural resources.
As it is, around 4,698 ha of the municipality’s steeply sloping lands still
need to be adequately reforested to protect the municipal watersheds. The
local government realizes the enormity of this goal vis-à-vis its financial
capacity to absorb the attendant costs. It has, thus, committed to utilize its
interest income from its lending operations under the CBRMP to fund, among
others, tree plantation and agro-forestry projects in other upland villages.
Likewise, it has vowed to enforce existing laws and regulations governing the
exploitation and utilization of its natural resources.

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(2) Coastal Resource Management

This component aims at rehabilitating and protecting the municipality’s

coastal resources. Initial efforts in this direction have been exerted under the
Western Samar Agricultural Resources Development Programme (Wesamar),
a bilateral undertaking of the GoP and the European Union. Wesamar, which
phased out in December 2000, was instrumental in reforesting 50.00 ha of
mangroves in three coastal communities. In addition, it organized and
conducted on-farm researches and skills training in alternative livelihood
activities for the beneficiary communities to which micro credit was extended
to capitalize their livelihood undertakings. This intervention is expected to
reduce overfishing pressures on the coastal waters.
Similar efforts are being exerted under the CBRMP through which an
additional 25.00 ha of mangroves are undergoing reforestation. The project
also supports the implementation of alternative livelihood activities intended
to ease overfishing pressures while providing higher incomes to the fishing
families. Alternative livelihood activities the CBRMP supports include lapu-
lapu fish cage culture, mud crab fattening in pens, and swine fattening and
marketing. Moreover, it supports efforts at building the capacities of the local
communities and the local government’s in natural resource management.
Also on-going in 4 coastal barangays is another coastal resource
management project funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation
with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources as executing
agency. Targeted by the project are 600 ha of mangroves for reforestation,
enrichment and nipa plantation. The project likewise supports the
development of alternative livelihood activity as mud crab culture. Currently
under a pilot phase, implementation of this socio-economic activity is
expected to be replicated soon on a wider scale.

3) Pollution Control

Finally, this component seeks to address the emerging problem of

pollution affecting the coastal areas, rivers and the urban environment. Soil
run-offs from denuded upland areas provide one major source of pollution of
the rivers and coastal waters. With CBRMP interventions, coupled with the
sustained efforts of the Municipal Agriculturist’s Office, implementation of
agro-forestry projects and capacity building are expected to eventually
minimize soil erosion in the next 3 years.
On the other hand, the increasing domestic wastes volume, especially
in the Poblacion, is also an emerging problem. Waste disposal is currently
undertaken by the municipal garbage disposal team. The latter is
backstopped by a garbage compactor truck that picks up garbage around the
town proper twice a day.

Manageable at present, the volume of domestic wastes is projected to

rise with the planned implementation of the Small Enterprise Park (Spark)

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Project. Spark is expected to raise the number of business establishments

within the 20-ha project site, in effect also raising the volume of domestic
wastes. To contain this scenario, a zero waste management system is built
into the Spark project as a major component. This would involve the
establishment of a privatized waste recycling plant to transform the bio-
degradable wastes into marketable organic fertilizers and soil conditioners;
non-biodegradable wastes as plastics and metals would be sold to scrap
dealers. A liquid waste treatment plant would also be set up so that the liquid
wastes are treated before these are discharged into the sewerage system.
Additional garbage trucks and garbage bins would also be acquired.
Meanwhile, the local government is set to relocate two rice mills,
including the one-hectare public cemetery, both of which are in the heart of
the Poblacion. The first has been causing air pollution; the second is an
eyesore that occupies a premium space that is best allotted to commercial
uses.

Community Involvement

The incumbent local government is a staunch advocate of

development defined as sustainable growth with equity through people’s
participation. It is not enough that the local economy grows in terms of the
money value of goods and services the people produce. The benefits of
growth must be shared or distributed in a manner that help create a decent,
human living for all who toil. Beyond growth and equity, genuine development
must unleash the creative energies of people or communities, making them
not like the heavy body of the turtle that waits to be pulled, but like the unified
feet of the centipede that ambulate together to pull through.
This metaphor underscores the special importance accorded by the
local government to community involvement in planning and managing
Calbiga’s cultural and natural birthright. Bottom-up planning is, of course, a
national policy embodied in the Local Government Code of 1991 which has
created various mechanisms through which people’s participation is drawn.
Accordingly, the local government has ensured people’s representations in
such local bodies as the Barangay Development Council, Barangay
Agriculture and Fishery Council, Municipal Development Council, and the
Municipal Tourism Council.
The local government believes that, unless projects emanate from the
people or communities, these are bound to fail. Ownership or stake is a
critical factor that has always guided the local government as it embarks on
the difficult journey to development. Such is why periodic consultations with
all communities are conducted. These community assemblies have become a
traditional mechanism through which the local government reaches out to the
people to listen and understand, to learn from their experiences, and to map
out with them what alternatives are feasible in light of their resources and the
local governments’. That has always been the way in which all community
projects—village halls, roads, day care centers, school buildings, livelihood

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activities, river control, cultural celebrations, etc.—are planned, financed and

implemented. In this manner, the communities share the joys and pride from
their collective victories, in the same way that they share or own up the
responsibility for their failures.

Planning for the Future

“Plans,” said the late American president, Dwight Eisenhower, “are

nothing. Planning is everything.”
This dictum has always guided the local government as it sets out to
facilitate development planning. Truly, it is one thing to own well presented or
written plans, and quite another to have one that the communities or people
can call their own. The point is that the planning process is a crucial element
in plan formulation. How plans are formulated, therefore, speaks very well of
the value that local authorities accord to people’s participation or people
empowerment.
The Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) is the long term plan
document prepared by all local governments in the Philippines. Recently
completed, Calbiga’s CDP, which covers the period 2002-2012, is simply a
consolidation of the CDPs of its 41 barangays. With the Municipal Planning
and Development Office as facilitator, formulation of this 10-year plan is made
through a multi-sectoral strategic planning exercise per barangay which
involves the following processes:
Review of the previous plan. This review aims to find out what
objectives have been achieved, what were not achieved and why, and what
remain to be achieved. The review also covers an assessment of the external
as well as internal environment to determine the opportunities and threats
confronting the barangay, and the strengths and weaknesses of the Barangay
Council as a development agency.
Value analysis. This exercise revisits the village vision and mission, if
any. If not, the chief planning facilitator guides the workshop participants
through a visioning and missioning process, through which they draw up the
future they desire for their village and their people, and the roles or mission
that the Barangay Council commits to play in the attainment of this vision.
Objectives Setting. At this stage, the barangay defines their
objectives, or the milestones to reach in order to achieve the mission. Objectives
are set to conform to the SMART criteria, which means specific, measurable,
attainable, realistic and time-bounded. Objectives are defined for all sectors that
include: agriculture and fishery; trade and industry; services; tourism; health;
social services; education; peace and order; infrastructure; local government;
sports and recreation; and agrarian reform.

Strategy formulation. Having defined the objectives, the village

people go through the exercise of defining the means to achieve these. The
planning facilitators are there simply to assist, never to dictate.

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Financial Planning. This exercise involves the estimation of financial

resources necessary to support the implementation of the plan, including
sources and uses of funds.
Integration. In this final activity, the village CDPs are integrated to
form into what is now the Calbiga Comprehensive Development Plan which
captures a future the Calbiganons collectively desire.

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