In surge of each pound of waves echoes the struggle and unyielding conviction of the mussel farmers of Navotas—a fight | dG1faXBjUlFUSWZzZkU
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00:00We are friends of nature, from the soil to the deep waters of the ocean.
00:12This is what sustains our life, what gives us a home, a livelihood, and above all, our food.
00:22All of this is in vain.
00:24But as time goes by,
00:26it is gradually taken away,
00:28destroyed,
00:30and destroyed by the oceans.
00:32The noise of the ocean
00:34is now slowly
00:36being erased.
00:38This is Navotas,
00:40the source of almost 70% of the entire supply
00:42of seafood in Metro Manila.
00:44This is the industry
00:46of Manila Bay.
00:48In Barangay Sipak, Almacen,
00:50on the other side of Manila Bay,
00:52there is a community of fishermen.
00:54But when we went there,
00:56we only found
00:58a row of boats
01:00and mountains
01:02that are covered in soil.
01:04There are no reefs
01:06and no floating boats.
01:08You can see it right there.
01:10Right now,
01:12you can't see anything because it is destroyed.
01:14A crisis will happen here.
01:16Not only a crisis,
01:18but if there is calamity,
01:20a lot of people will be affected.
01:22They don't have a choice
01:24but to live here in the sea.
01:26Discard it
01:28because we only get
01:30our food here.
01:32We don't get anything else.
01:36We don't prohibit it,
01:38but if you go there,
01:40just be careful if you can catch a fish
01:42or if you have money for a year.
01:44It's hard,
01:46but we are still fighting
01:48because we need to fight
01:50for our children.
01:52When the reclamation
01:54started,
01:56it was a big downfall.
01:58It was a big downfall
02:00because there was nothing left.
02:02We are having a hard time
02:04with our food.
02:06How about our daily expenses?
02:08How about that?
02:10It's hard.
02:12We wake up in the morning
02:14and we don't have food.
02:16How are we going to earn
02:18500 pesos?
02:20They are making it hard
02:22for us.
02:24The reclamation
02:26is a project
02:28of the government
02:30to promote
02:32the Philippines
02:34and provide a solution
02:36to the lack of land.
02:38It is helping the fishermen
02:40and fishermen
02:42of Navotas.
02:44The industry
02:46of agriculture
02:48needs to be expanded.
02:50We don't feel it.
02:52Why did you deprive us of our livelihood?
02:54If you want to expand it,
02:56why did you allow it to be demolished?
02:58Demolish our livelihood.
03:00More than 70 percent
03:02of the 250,000 population
03:04of Navotas
03:06lives from fishing
03:08and other marine industries
03:10in Manila Bay.
03:12Even though President Bongbong Marcos
03:14signed the reclamation
03:16in Manila Bay in 2023,
03:18the authorities
03:20continue to demolish
03:22and dig up cement
03:24in the area
03:26which is still making
03:28thousands of families suffer.
03:30How can I provide
03:32for my children's education?
03:34Even if I can't finish my studies,
03:36I want my children to continue
03:38their education.
03:40How can I provide for them?
03:42It's too much.
03:44If they only know
03:46how painful it is
03:48because they don't know
03:50what we are going through.
03:54But if the situation is reversed,
03:56they will say,
03:58why is it like that?
04:00We are human beings.
04:02I am also a human being.
04:04I am not just a parent.
04:06I have a responsibility to my parents.
04:08They are destroying
04:10the ocean.
04:12They are destroying
04:14the life of the sea
04:16which has changed a lot.
04:18Even on land,
04:20the rich are doing the same.
04:22Even though the concrete
04:24images of Kauanlaran
04:26do not reflect
04:28the high buildings
04:30and the wide roads,
04:32it is still
04:34difficult
04:36for the people
04:38in every demolition
04:40and destruction.
04:42It can't cover
04:44the tears and screams
04:46for the fight
04:48for the unjust
04:50rights.