Ramirez okays request of group, but rallyists non-committal

CEBU, Philippines - They announced they will stop their rally if they get assurance that the Municipality of Medellin’s tourism project will not mean putting up cottages on the shores, but Mayor Ricardo Ramirez’s word and signature were apparently not enough for the protesters.

In yesterday’s dialogue about some fisherfolks’ apprehensions about the local project, Henry Cuyos, president of the Gibitngil Island Farmers and Fisherfolks Association (GIFFA), asked the mayor to sign a declaration that the Municipal Government would not build cottages on the island’s shores that might block their boats.

Ramirez agreed and assured he will sign it right away, saying he has since been announcing anyway that he only wanted to build the footbridge to connect a rock where cottages were built, to the shore.

But in exchange, Ramirez also asked Cuyos to sign a paper assuring that they will dismantle the temporary structures the group built on the shores to shelter them during the rally, and for things to be back to normal.

On this, Cuyos said the group has yet to decide.

“The ball is now in their hands,” Ramirez said.

A lot of fisherfolks mobilized by Bayan Muna went to the municipal hall yesterday. But to avoid chaos and for smoother negotiations, Ramirez only talked to five of them, led by Cuyos.

It was Cuyos who requested the dialogue to clarify issues regarding the on-going construction of a footbridge that would connect Gibitngil island to a huge rock called “Taytay” where a Bantay Dagat outpost and kiosks were built, making it the “Funtastic Medellin Island Watch”, another tourist attraction of the town.

The groups opposed the project fearing that the entire area will be developed for tourism and would deprive the fishermen of a place to dock their boats.

Richard Cuyos earlier said that as long as they got assurance from Ramirez that there would be no further development in the area after the footbridge, they will stop holding picket at the shoreline. 

Ramirez, in return, asked that GIFFA should acknowledge that the footbridge has in no way dislocated any fisherman and that they would voluntarily vacate the place where they have camped out.

The footbridge is less than one meter wide. But before the group’s president affixed his signature yesterday, he took the prepared document and presented it to the members but GIFFA secretary Evelyn Cuyos, wife of Richard, asked that the conditions set by Ramirez be discussed further.

During the dialogue, Ramirez learned the tension was ignited when someone spread misinformation that there will be a demolition of houses along the shore of Gibitngil because of the project.

Ramirez asked who this person was but no one surfaced.

“Ako sila giingnan nga sunod, timbang-timbanga una ninyo usa pa mo mobuhat,” Ramirez told The FREEMAN. (I told them to weigh things next time before they make any action.) — (FREEMAN)