Mr. Butterfly

Rowell "Roy" Rodriguez, for most of his life, was like a chrysallis hanging out on a limb, not really belonging. As a child, he was considered "weird" preferring the company of indigenous peoples in the mountains – the Palaw-ans, instead of joining in on the fun and games of other children. On weekends, in the hills and forests of Brook’s Point, southern Palawan, the little second grader would be guided by his native friends to secret places where flowers bloom and butterflies abound. Here he was happy, admiring butterflies and searching the shrubs for bugs, praying mantis, grasshoppers, tiger and stag beetles.

It was his father, schoolteacher Rodrigo Rodriguez, who introduced him to this wonderful world. Part of his school duties was to guide children on forest treks to help them appreciate the creatures of the wilds. Eventually, these became forays fueled by a passion for butterflies. In the lush forest green of Mt. Mantalinghacan, these "flying jewels," as Roy calls them, lured both father and son into an avocation that would last a lifetime. They would eventually discover 15 new butterfly and insect species which the National Museum would name after the Rodriguez family. The first among these was the Theodosia Rodriguezi, a green metallic bug. Another species, the Charexis Bufaloes Rowelli, named after Roy, was found on a foray in the forests of Balabac and which almost cost him his life as he fell ill with malaria.

The fascination over these beautiful creatures of the Palawan forests would gradually turn into a concern for the plant life in the area. As time passed and Roy became a high school student, he noticed the insect population, particularly the butterflies, decreasing. There were less secret places his indigenous friends were taking him to. The mountains of Palawan were starting to go bald and with this, the disappearance of the creatures native to the place.

Roy and his father, apprehensive over this development, began scouring the mountains for the plant varieties that hosted butterflies and began replanting them in a backyard garden to make sure that they did not disappear entirely. They also established a system for documentation and initiated facilities for propagation on a household level.

Shortly after high school, Roy fell in love and married Emmie. He soon started a family and rues the fact that he has not been able to pursue a college education. He saw his friends take on professions and find employment. He sought solace for his frustration in his hobby which was now becoming his lifework. However, there were no office jobs or fancy salaries for this. For all intents and purposes, he was just bumming around. But all this time, without realizing it, Roy had already gathered a body of data on the enthomologic world of Palawan that rivals the work of academics in the field. In fact, butterfly experts from the West and the rest of Asia began consulting him on his initiatives – the work he began as a child and which continues grow. In the late ‘80s, Roy was invited to Singapore, then Malaysia to help set up the Butterfly Garden in Kuala Lumpur. As a technical researcher in an international environment, he began to realize the value of his work. The chrysallis had broken open for Roy; he was no longer out on a limb.

It took a foreign environment to help open his eyes to the fact that he was no weirdo. In fact, he had a specialization that very few could approximate. "There were others who had all the university degrees but I guess what I had was the heart for what I was doing. It was my life. . . it had been so ever since I was a child," Roy says.

He realized that what he was doing for another country he could very well be doing for his own Palawan. In fact, he and his wife (his entire family was with him) thought that it was imperative to do it in their own country. "Besides, we were already feeling homesick," he recalls. It was to fulfill this dream that he came back to Palawan, knowing he was turning his back on fulfilling a career abroad.

"It was difficult. I had a family to provide for. Emmie (who finished a business degree in college) became the entrepreneur helping keep things together," he says.

Roy continued his research and began making moves to set up the Butterfly Garden of his dreams. Things moved slowly however, there was no support for his work until one day, out of the blue, Emmie recounts, a nun, out of the beaten track appeared on their doorstep, Sister Luz Emmanuel, of the Assumption who would help him with his breakthrough.

He was requested to set up an Ecological Park for the Assumption school in Antipolo and here, Roy put together to good use everything he had learned. Sister Luz knew of his dream, however, and together with then Mayor Edward Hagedorn of Puerto Princesa City gave him the seed money that he used to start the Butterfly Garden. Today, this is a must see and brings together species endemic to Palawan as well as guest varieties which never fail to be a source of unending delight to the hundreds of visitors who come to enjoy themselves. Butterflies here are not shy and one may find that proverbial butterfly on one’s shoulder if one sits still long enough. Another loan from the provincial government has helped him expand the facilities which approximate the mountain lairs that Roy frequented as a child in Brook’s Point.

Roy has another dream – to help encourage young children particularly those from Palawan to appreciate the beauty of nature right in their own backyard. He wants to help duplicate the experience of the little second grader who found his lifework in the forests. What he plans will also help preserve the environment. "Butterflies are the best teachers to show our concern for the environment. By teaching children to plant flowering shrubs that butterflies feed on, we would be helping ensure the continuous propagation of plant life – and the insect life it supports. If we only depend on government bureaucracy to assure us of the protection of the environment we are sure to be frustrated. But if we teach the children particularly those who already live close to nature to value and preserve what they have, then we have a chance of winning the battle for the protection of nature," he says. He has his life experience to back him up on this.

Already he has produced on his own a video short which introduces the initiate to the Butterfly Garden detailing the insects’ life cycle and its impact on the environment. He is looking at creating more information material to be distributed among schoolchildren and is offering to implement a "Reintroduction" program, the replanting of the flowering shrubs and other butterfly support plant species back into their forest homes, to regenerate the green and the wildlife that is slowly being lost.

The reintroduction program is aimed at both children and adults – particularly indigenous peoples who once earned their living through kaingin or the "slash and burn" method. Roy works closely with them as they bring him plant species for re-planting. He is also starting a project for a butterfly nursery with his Palaw-an friends. In this way, the forest can again be a source of sustenance for them. Instead of burning forest cover, they would be helping build it up. This effort would be part of a livelihood generation program with a two-fold objective: to generate the plant species that would support life and to breed the pupas which would eventually become butterflies. This will be implemented in cooperation with the mountain folks. Already, there are families in the foothills of Puerto Princesa who are working with him on this.

Caterpillars, itchy and unattractive wrap themselves up in cocoons and become chrysallis that sway precariously in the summer breeze ... but one day they break through and become butterflies, on the wing ... so it has been with this butterfly man – Roy Rodriguez. From "weird" youngster to out-of-school youth, he finds his wings and now begins to help others find theirs.

Over Holy Week, a group of Manila-based youngsters were guided by Roy into the foothills of Puerto Princesa. It was quite a shift from malls to mountains for Ethan, Kirby and Basti Belmonte and Miguel Sermonia but now, the concern for ecological preservation is no longer just something they read about in a book. Many other young people stand to benefit from educational trips such as these.