(February 2024). Every day, Myrna Imamil, 45, rises up as early as 4:00 in the morning to prepare local dishes that she sells in the neighborhood in Brgy. Pasiagan, Bongao, Tawi- Tawi. In selling, Myrna earns money to help her husband sustain their family of seven.

Her husband who is a former government employee now trades seasonal fruits in a nearby markets in Bongao and Panglima Sugala, Tawi-Tawi Province, Bangsamoro Region.

“Life is exhausting”, she stated with teary eyes.

“Actually, the family can manage the daily life but I just hope that it gets better”, Myrna added.

Income on daily basis is indeed a challenge for families even at the rural areas in the region.

“From a little earning, we could have the allowance of our children to school. What is left will be used for the expenses at home and as funds to produce dishes we sell for the following day”, she told.

Aside from vending, Myrna grows kalamansi (lemon) at their backyard where she produces supplemental income for the family.

Myrna is specifically worried about the education of her elder daughter (1^st year college in nursing), who has to stop due to financial incapacity of the family.

“As parents, we just wanted our children to finish their studies and it’s sad that we could hardly provide that for them”, she emotionally expressed.

The family is not stopping though, by asking help from government offices in hope for support like scholarships.

Myrna is glad that she was able to report her concern for the education of their children to the ministries providing assistance like study grants, during the Community Assembly conducted in January 2024 in their village, Pasiagan.

 Basic social services in the village

According to the local government unit of Brgy. Pasiagan in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, the estimated population of the village is around 6, 000 individuals.

The barangay is primarily dominated by Muslim populations (Sama tribe) with a minority number of non- Muslim families.

Located in a coastal area, many families does seaweed farming and fishing from the sea as means of livelihood.

Some are farmers of local crop such as cassava, kalamansi and other homegrown vegetables. There are families managing small businesses, or selling local products. Some men are carpenters.

The BLGU told that the barangay needs support on infrastructure development like covered court and footbridges, and livelihood support for women groups.

It was reported that the distribution of food packs with hygiene kits and education supplies during the Community Assembly in January 2024 was the first time experience for the whole community. There were eighty families who received such assistance.

Health facility is available, so as a school catering to the education needs of the children in the village.

Ulmila Musa, 15 is a hopeful youth whose dream is to finish studies and become a police officer. She is a diligent student who ranks 8^th in their class, Grade 10.

Another young girl is a non-Muslim whose family is from Zamboanga and has decided to move in Tawi- Tawi for reasonable living. She dream to be part of the armed forces of the government to continue the legacy of his elder brother who died as military.

Local women of Pasiagan

Paksa Mukatil, 56, president of Pasiagan Women’s Organization reported that it is the first time that women in their village is organized through the project SUBATAR-ECSO, for the purpose of helping them become more productive.

For them, they joined and participated to the project since most the women have less productive role.

In this seaside village, it is noticeable, however, that at daytime, men are rarely visible because it is the time when they sleep, since at night time, they go out for fishing, so women take the active role during community activities like the case when we were preparing for the venue of the Community Assembly conducted.

Through the project, Paksa told that women have become more united in learning and working together to produce the native delicacies that carry the identity and culture of Tawi-Tawi.

Paksa is a mother to fourteen children, with her husband as a carpenter. Eight of their children are already working, and are helping the family sustain the living. They also provide support to the education of their siblings who are still studying.

Marjorie Dela Cruz, a non- Muslim from Zamboanga City, is a mother who received the food packs and hygiene kit from the project. Her daughter got the educational kit. Marjorie does laundry services to help provide for the family. Her husband is a security officer.

Al-aziz Sahipa, 25, is born with polio. He was among the priority individuals of the assistance distributed.  They are six children in the family. His father is a police officer while the mother is a housewife. Al-aziz only reached Grade 10 level of education due to his health condition.

Intan Kamlon, 63, is thankful for the support received from the project. She has six children. With a little earning as utility personnel in a local restaurant, she could not send her kids to school, which she feels sorry about.

A senior member of the community, Hadji Musa Mukattil, 81, he witnessed the adversity of life in Brgy. Pasiagan, thus he hopes for more assistance to the village.

Hadji Musa is a widower, and was doing seaweed farming, in early days for his 10 children, who are all grown- ups. He is among the respected elderlies in the community and is the imam (prayer leader) in the barangay.

SUBATRA-ECSO has brought various development assistance to the identified beneficiaries of Brgy. Lilod like trainings on basic human rights, integrated risk and resilience management (IRRM) and the most exceptional is the skills training that came with complete set of tools and equipment.

The women in the village was formed into a People’s Organization (PO) and the project assisted them in identifying livelihood program, which is the processing of native delicacies.

"We chose to make native delicacies because we know one day it will be known not only in Tawi-Tawi but in different places”, Paksa and the women stated.

They added that “we want to introduce these native delicacies, especially now that the province of Tawi-Tawi is receiving more tourists where we can sell and generate income helpful for our families”.

Accordingly, the producing native delicacies is known to some senior members of the community but they wanted to learn more especially for the young generation to promote and preserve these traditional dishes such as lara-lara (sili-sili), batang buruk, jintan, panyam, panganan, bawlo, hantak/kukus, doughnut-doughnut, jah, tapa-tapa and tok-ki.

At present, Kapsa and the organization produces delicacies on weekly basis, which they sell at the pasalubong center in a local airport and in local stores in the community.

They are also working independently for the temporary storage of the tools and equipment provided to them by the project.

The group hopes to have the permanent production facility where they can work and produce better, while improving their organization to grow and be sustainable.

Their products have been saleable during the Product Expo in August 2023 in Cotabato City. 

With the formation of their group named as Pasiagan Women’s Organization, they are now earning income from producing native delicacies.  

At present, the registration is of the PO is underway to the MOLE-BARMM with the guidance and supervision of the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA Inc.).

Registration to MOLE-BARMM would formalize and legalize the existence of the PO that qualifies it for furthers assistance from the government and other private organizations. This will be helpful to improve their group and products and become successful and sustainable.

The group has also completed training on social enterprise and on self-help, which are significant for their development as on organization (BDA Communications, 2024).

March 12, 2024. In the distant community of Barangay Buan, Panglima Sugala in Tawi-Tawi, Bangsamoro Region, are the Sama people who lives along the seashores in this island province.

At the young age, a Sama child is being trained and exposed to the sea for fishing and for farming activities, a primary source of living for the people in this coastal village.

Alrashel Julaid, 43, is born to a family and community of seaweeds farming. He was young when his father was bringing him to the sea.

Being by the or in the sea is popular identity to the Sama people. It is their home where they are born and raised.

Alrashel grows seaweeds to sustain his family of seven. Their two children are in college taking education course.

Similar to all other fathers, he wish for his kids to complete studies as their key to success in life.

His wife takes mostly of the reproductive role with the younger kids at home.

Basic social services in Brgy. Buan

Brgy. Buan is home to thousands of families who are Sama and lives by the faith based on Islam religion.

Despite the distance from the mainland and the center of development in the Tawi-Tawi province, the barangay has available services for its people such as basic and secondary schools, justice hall, water system project, and a health facility.

Families in the village are beneficiaries of the 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program) through the Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD-BARMM). Elderlies also received assistance from the senior citizens program of the government.

However, all these require for upgrading and further support towards improved services to the people.

For instance on education, youth who wishes to pursue college needs to move in Bongao (the center of Tawi-Tawi Province), since there is no higher education institution established in rural areas of Tawi-Tawi. And for most families, sending their kids from the island to mainland Bongao requires bigger financial responsibility for allowance, accommodation, transportation, meals, school fees, etc.

In this case that many of the aspiring youths could not make it to education, like Alshayma Juhang, 40, who only reached second year level in college and opted to went back home to Brgy. Buan where she married and build a family.

She helps her husband does seaweed farming for their family of five.

As their source of living, seaweed farming is like a whole day of going to a regular job. Everyday after breakfast, her husband leaves to go farming and to catch fish, too and other sea foods, which they sell for income.

At home, Alshayma would prepare some local dishes that she vends into the neighborhood for little sales, helpful for the family’s daily sustenance.

Seaweeds farming in the community

On January 31, 2024, a simple dialogue between farmers and fisherfolks of Brgy. Buan and the government institutions like the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR Tawi-Tawi Provincial Office) and Mindanao State University (MSU- Tawi-Tawi) happened particularly in Sitio Biha of the said village.

Both parties were able to expressed and report their concerns related to aquaculture practices in this island community.

Among the concerns raised was the use of fertilizer for seaweeds farming, which according to MAFAR and MSU Tawi-Tawi is not encouraged due to its potential harmful effects to human health and the environment.

The farmers conveyed that they are using fertilizers for rapid growth and harvest of seaweeds, and therefore a rapid income to provide for their families. 

Both parties acknowledged each struggle and agreed to work on unified actions to resolve such realities on aquaculture in this island village, and help advance the economic conditions for the entire community.

Also reported by the farmers and fisherfolks was the prizing of seaweeds as dictated by traders e.g., from P140.00 to P45.00.

The group likewise appeals for the the high price of seaweed seedlings that they needed to begin their farming.

The Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA Inc.) through the project: "Building Resilient Livelihoods and Communities through Climate-Smart Aquaculture Value Chain in Tawi-Tawi and Sulu Archipelago” under the program “Strengthening the implementation of regional and local peace and development agendas in Mindanao (SPADe) has been conducting a baseline study related to aquaculture in the Bangsamoro Region.

It focuses on seaweeds farming in Brgy. Buan, Panglima Suga in Tawi-Tawi and on lobster fishing in Brgy. Sucuban, Omar, Sulu.

The project is co-funded by European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) implemented by German International Cooperation (GIZ).

Support from the project 

The project has various plans to aid the beneficiaries advance their aquaculture practices like trainings to educate them the modern, environmental and practical manner of growing, harvesting and marketing their products.

This action also comes with an infrastructure development. On January 31, 2024, the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of seaweeds dryer with mini solar dryer has been successfully conducted in Brgy. Buan through the support of partners from MAFAR Tawi-Tawi and MSU Tawi-Tawi.

The construction of lobster aquaculture facility in Brgy. Sucuban has also been started, which groundbreaking ceremony was attended by partners from BARMM through its Sulu Provincial Offices like the MAFAR and Cooperative and Social Enterprise Authority (CSEA), MSU- Sulu and the Philippine Army. 

At present, BDA Inc. is managing the procurement of required building materials for the said infra projects through its field staff in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.