Things were beginning to grind to a halt on Wednesday of Holy Week when the murderer struck. He chose the time when media coverage would be minimal, government offices would be closed and most people would be in their homes and in church or away somewhere.
In fact, news about the murder didn’t come out in the national print media until four days later on Easter Sunday. The Cebu media gave it major treatment though. The Inquirer had a brief account on page 20, part of which read:
``One of the city’s leading crusaders against illegal fishing died Thursday, a day after he was shot four times by an unidentified assailant while he was about to enter his house in Barangay Dauis, Talisay City.
``Elpidio de la Victoria, 46, program director of Cebu City’s Bantay Dagat Commission and the city’s market administrator, was shot in the back and arm and twice in the buttocks at around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. He died at the Chong Chua Hospital at 8:50 a.m. the next day.’’
Four shots in all. The killer wanted to be sure his prey died right there and then. (A suspect, a policeman, has been tagged.)
De la Victoria was also an officer of the Philippine National Association of Fish Wardens and an active member of the Visayan Sea Squadron.
I didn’t know de la Victoria (Jojo to his friends) personally but I know the advocacy he was involved in which could be a reason why he was marked for elimination.
A few weeks before he was murdered I did write about the threatened Visayan Sea (3/23/06) that de la Victoria and his colleagues have been trying to defend. Once so rich with seemingly limitless abundance of marine life, the Visayan Sea was described as the Alaska of the Philippines. Alas, massive, unregulated and destructive fishing has since degraded the ecological richness and diversity of this area. Some species of fish are supposedly facing extinction.
What de la Victoria and his fellow guardians of the sea were trying to do was simply to get the government to implement the laws (and there are a good many). But because the government has not been up to it, NGOs, and local officials, mainly from Iloilo, Negros and Cebu, wrote a petition asking higher authorities to give the Visayan Sea time to rest and recuperate. These advocates pledged to participate and cooperate with one another in self-assessment for environmental compliance audit, total eradication of illegal and destructive fishing, as well as identifying main areas of interest. They also asked that a Philippine Navy gunboat be permanently assigned in the Visayan Marine Triangle (at the apex of which lies the Visayan Sea).
Well, this is one sure way of making fierce and murderous enemies. They kill the sea, why can’t they kill you?
There is another angle to this murder. De la Victoria’s death could have been related to his job as market administrator. Whatever be the motive, the killing of de la Victoria was certainly a blow to the Visayan Sea campaign.
One week before de la Victoria was killed, he wrote a piece titled ``Speak Out: Protecting small fisherfolk’’ that came out in Cebu’s Sun-Star. He must have angered the giants. Here are excerpts:
``Most, if not all, giant fishing outfits do not limit their operations to the open sea, (they) also fish near the shores and compete with marginal fishermen.
``Since commercial fishing ventures destroy near-shore fishing grounds, local government units should do something about it and take steps to protect small fishermen who could be deprived of their means of livelihood.
``The fisheries code or Republic Act 8550 aims to reduce the over-exploitation of municipal waters by providing alternative livelihood resources and beefing up environment friendly aquaculture activities that would encourage a shift from fish hunting to fish husbandry.’’
De la Victoria argued that the ``the rights of fisherfolk will also be protected because they are given `preferential use’ of the municipal waters’’ that is not enjoyed by commercial fishers.
He noted however that many fisherfolk think that RA 8550 is not working to their advantage because while the commercial fishers are given access to the richer fishing grounds (10 to 15 kms. from the shoreline), the small ones could not go farther out. Worse, the commercial fishers destroy the fishing areas not meant for them (1 to 7 kms. form the shoreline).
According to de la Victoria, the Fisheries Law of 1998 has allowed the entry of fishing vessels weighing 3.1 tons to 150 tons into municipal waters. However, he said, the local government, through the chief executive, and acting pursuant to an appropriate ordinance, may authorize or permit small and medium fishing vessels to operate within 10.1 to 15 kms. from the shoreline provided that no commercial fishing is allowed in municipal waters with a depth of less than 7 fathoms.
In this set up, de la Victoria said, small fishermen should organize themselves into cooperatives to be able to engage in deep sea or offshore fishing which is ideal and environmentally sound.
One shouldn’t get killed for saying these. De la Vega’s life and death fit right into Earth Day meditations.
Earth lovers are invited to celebrate Earth Day (Saturday, April 22) beginning with a 6:30 a.m. Mass on Smokey Mountain which is a garbage dump no more. In its place has risen a new community. Main celebrant is Manila archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales. Mother Earth mover Odette Alcantara promises a meaningful liturgy and related activities. To go there, take Roxas Blvd., go toward del Pan Bridge, then go further on.
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