Barangay San Salvador encompasses a stretch of islands that lie parallel to the Zambales mainland. It is one of 13 barangays that belong to the municipality of Masinloc, a first-class municipality in Zambales. As of 2013, Masinloc had a population of 46,016, spread across 9,238 households. The islands, 15 minutes away from the mainland via motorboat, are characterized by diverse flora and fauna, lush mangrove forests, and a beautiful coastline.
Among Masinloc’s barangays, San Salvador stands out for its ecological diversity. According to the municipal government, San Salvador’s flora and fauna include over 67 species of fish across 22 families and a 27% live coral cover on its waters. The islands’ rare natural resources have led to its recognition as an ecotourism site in Central Luzon.
San Salvador is also a marine-protected area, cared for through the joint efforts of the local government, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), and volunteer network Bantay Dagat.
Its islands are said to be closest to the highly-disputed Panatag or Scarborough Shoal, which is 124 nautical miles west of Zambales. Panatag Shoal is referred to by San Salvador locals by their mother municipality—Bajo de Masinloc.
On July 12, the Philippines won its arbitration case against China via an international tribunal ruling. Despite this, China continued to reject the claim and deployed its coast guard to ward off Filipino fishermen.
A day in the life
Meet Nanay Jane, 41 years old and a resident of San Salvador her entire life. She is the youngest of eight siblings fathered by Lolo Jose, who at 91 years old is still strong and continues to care for their household. Joining her in their home fronting the sea are her sister Tita Baby, her son Badeng, and Lolo Jose.
Nanay Jane used to work as a caterer for the municipality. She recalls preparing local dishes with Tita Baby for conferences and seminars held in the municipal hall, located in the mainland.
However, Nanay Jane says she has been feeling sick for the past eight years, preventing her from pursuing her work with the municipality. She only started regularly seeing the doctor in the mainland recently. To earn money, she relies on various rakets, including selling kakanin (native rice cakes) and interviewing fisherfolk for municipality surveys to help countercheck claims of lower fish catch.
A typical day in Nanay Jane’s life starts with her rising at 5:00 in the morning. She prepares breakfast with Tita Baby—fried baliliwan and egg with rice freshly harvested from their backyard. After breakfast, she would send off Badeng to school and then proceed to cleaning the house. Lunch follows—fried bisugo accompanied with papayas cooked in coconut milk broth—and then she watches Eat Bulaga, noontime show of the only channel with decent signal in their place. More cleaning, maybe a nap on the hammock by their chicken pen, and then dinner with her siblings who had gone fishing during the day. After dinner, sometimes she watches the news, but most of the time it’s Encantadia that she looks out for. Lights are out by 9:00 PM in San Salvador.
Despite an 18-year-old geothermal power plant nearby, San Salvador got electricity only five years ago and still regularly experiences power outages during thunderstorms. Power is connected by a gridline that spans the distance between San Salvador and the mainland. A large utility pole is erected at a shallow part of the waters between the mainland and the island to support the power line.
Prior to having electricity, Nanay Jane recalls having a much shorter day and using kerosene lamps at night. “Noong panahong wala pang kuryente, kumakain kami ng hapunan habang maliwanag pa (Before electricity was installed here, we used to eat supper while the sun was still out),” she said.
Her household remains isolated from sources of basic commodities. The water pumping station is located down the stretch of the island, so she sends her son every Sunday to fetch water good for the week. The wet market is located in the mainland and a visit would mean having to traverse the sea in between. A ride to the mainland costs Php 15 or Php 30 roundtrip.
Talking politics
Though far away from the seat of power in Manila, politics is still very much a part of life in San Salvador.
Nanay Jane and her family voted for Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas and his running-mate Leni Robredo in the last elections. She added that many in San Salvador were for Roxas and Robredo—both of whom lost the Zambales vote to rivals Grace Poe and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. respectively. She recalled that the Liberal Party had a campaign sortie in the Masinloc mainland. They wanted to go, she said, but the heavy rains prevented them from meeting their bets.
She acknowledged however the defeat of her presidential bet, the eventual second-placer. “Talo,” she said while letting out a sigh.
At the same time, Nanay Jane expressed a certain sadness over the state of Masinloc’s local political scene. Their barangay had supported the campaign Jessu Edora, whom she said had served mayor for a long time. According to Nanay Jane, Edora took breaks in between terms—after three years as mayor, she would take the next three years off, and then start the cycle all over again.
Edora lost to Liberal Party candidate Arsenia Lim, whom Nanay Jane describes to be strict and hard to reach for her community. “Ngayon, kailangang dumaan sa dalawang pinto para makapunta [kay Lim]. Samantalang ‘yong dating mayor, isang pinto nandiyan na sila (We now have to get past two doors just to knock at the mayor’s door, whereas the last mayor was there after a single door),” she said.
Having backed the opponent with her barangay captain and local community, Nanay Jane knows the implications. She said that she has long accepted that their islands will not prioritized in terms of development projects. “Siyempre ‘yung mayor ngayon ‘yung sumusuporta sa kanya ‘yung unang tutulungan niya (Of course the new mayor will help those who supported his campaign first).”
Acknowledging how the local patronage system works, Nanay Jane sighed saying, “Okay lang sa amin. ‘Di na kami umaasa (We’re fine with it. We’re no longer hopeful anyway).”
Duterte and the drug war
Despite having voted for the second-placer, Nanay Jane said that she and her family welcomed change with the new president. However, Duterte’s tirades against foreign bodies and opponents of the drug war have led her to rethink her position. “Noong bago pa lang si Duterte, sabi namin ‘Duterte kami!’ Pero noong nagmura na siya, hindi na maganda (When Duterte was newly elected, we said we’ll support him. But that all changed when he started cursing).”
When asked what she thought of the new president, Nanay Jane said that he is “nakakainis” because of the way he deals with other people. “Mura na lang siya nang mura. Wala na siyang ginagalang, ang tapang niya! (He keeps cursing and cursing. He has no respect for anyone, he’s so tough!),” she added.
Nanay Jane also mentioned that Duterte’s war on drugs has reached Masinloc, but only in the mainland. While Nanay Jane said that no one was arrested and killed by the police or vigilantes in San Salvador, several people from other barangays had turned themselves in and were placed in the provincial rehabilitation center.
Amid her reservations toward Duterte, Nanay Jane acknowledged the contributions of the new administration to their town. She thanked the president for the new fishing vessels given to her family by BFAR.
“Project daw ni President iyon,” she said.
Fighting for Panatag
Nanay Jane recalls how fishermen from San Salvador would voyage to Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal and stay there for a month to fish. “Dati, dinadayo talaga ng mga taga-Masinloc ang Scarborough Shoal (The people of Masinloc really used to voyage to Scarborough Shoal to fish),” Jane said.
Nanay Jane mentions that a single month’s haul from the waters of Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal would translate to Php 20,000 worth of sales in the local market. She says the fish they caught were rare, large, and bountiful. “Malaki ang kinikita doon dahil maraming isda, maraming species (The many types and species of fish lead to high revenues whenever we’re there),” she added.
She said that San Salvador fisherfolk, her nephew among them, would return every so often to Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, until the Chinese Coast Guard started intimidating them by spraying water on their smaller vessels. Just on September 28, a group of Filipino fishermen were harassed by the Chinese Coast Guard before arriving at the shoal.
Despite winning the arbitration case against China, Nanay Jane is disappointed because it seems to have had no effect. “Nanalo nga tayo [sa kaso], pero hindi pa rin tayo makapasok sa Scarborough Shoal (We won the case yes, but we still can’t proceed to Scarborough Shoal).”
“Kaya nga Bajo de Masinloc ang tawag nila eh [sa (Scarborough) Shoal] (They call [Scarborough Shoal] Bajo de Masinloc for a reason,” Jane reiterated.
She wishes that China will honor the ruling and that their community can fish there again. “Makapangisda lang mga Pilipino doon, okay na siguro (If Filipino fisherfolk get to fish there again, I will be fine).”
As part of his attempt to improve relations with China, Duterte has downplayed the Philippines’ victory, saying he will instead talk directly with China to allow Filipinos to fish in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal again.
“I have a good feeling that we will be okay with them [China]. But first let’s not touch the Scarborough Shoal issue because we cannot win that,” Duterte said, as quoted by the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “Even if we get angry, we’ll just be putting on airs. We can’t beat [China]. We’ll ask them to allow our fishermen to [return] to their traditional fishing ground in Scarborough.”
But whether or not they can return to Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, life in San Salvador will continue. They will live with their daily catch and harvest. In the words of Lolo Jose, “Ganito talaga buhay dito, pinagtiyatiyagaan kung anong mayroon (This is really how life is here; we make do with what we have).”
For Nanay Jane, the daily routine pushes through—she will continue to take care of her beachside household, of Badeng, Tita Baby, and Lolo Jose. As she contemplates the future, she looks onward to the vast ocean fronting her, the source of her family’s daily bread. “Basta ako, babantayan ko ang dagat (For me, I’ll just continue to watch our sea),” she said.
