The Silot Bay issue in Liloan town is a problem with how commons are being appropriated by a few.
The act of owning a part of the sea does not even qualify as feudalism, although the element of greed may be comparable.
Bodies of water, be it freshwater, the sea or part of the sea cannot be privately owned. Save for the legal fiction introduced by the Torrens Title, even land belongs to the commons.
Commons, which include the forests, atmosphere, rivers, fisheries or grazing land are supposed to be used and enjoyed by all.
In the case of Silot Bay, part of it was first appropriated as a fish pond and eventually was issued a land title after the government, under the Marcos administration, classified it as alienable and disposable.
The land title, however, does not change the nature of the titled space as part of the sea.
If you ask long-time Liloan residents, the bay has been a common fishing ground for generations. Families would go there to gather shell fish and fish for sustenance. It was shared, used and enjoyed by all.
The tensions underlying the Silot Bay issue have revived with the action of the title holders, the family of labor leader Democrito Mendoza, to fence what they believe is legally their property.
Liloan Mayor Duke Frasco has a tough case on his hands, one he pointed out, began before he was born.
“The issue has reached the highest court of the land but as mayor of Liloan, I’ll have to look for ways to ensure that our people still have a fishing ground,” he said in a public dialog with restive Liloan residents.
Fishermen may not have the sophistication of unknowing what “A and D” means or why a Torrens Title takes the place of a body of water whose access used to be unlimited.
But they do know that their fishing ground is part of the commons that should not be appropriated for the exclusive use of an individual or a group. The community has the right to use and enjoy Silot Bay. Three stoppage orders of the mayor to halt the fencing has bought a little time for dialog.
Is the Mendoza family listening?
Or will they confidentently ignore the outcry and tell all detractors to go to court, where the labor leader had earlier secured victory?
Confronted by the mayor about the row of PVC pipes and steel bars planted in the water, the Mendozas, more actively represented by Rep. Raymond Mendoza, a party-list member of
ALU-TUCP, insist this is not a fence but just a “marker”.
Ostensibly the marker is for public safety, to warn people not to approach areas where there’s an undertow or whirlpool that could cause accidental drowning. That was a ridiculous cover story.
Liloan residents know that and Mayor Frasco told the “owners” so when he responded,“ Don’t insult my intelligence.”
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