Kaban ni Lino Labra: B U T A N D I N G
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| butanding |
Butanding is a giant whaleshark. In a sleepy town in Oslob,
Cebu, it is a huge money machine to the local residents and the town owing to
the attraction that these sea creatures had brought to tourists both local and
foreign. For the past few days, Butanding has been in the national limelight
after an innocent barrio lass used one of them as a surfboard for fun.
Yesterday, the price of its fame has taken its toll when an overflowing crowd
overshot the carrying capacity of the venue and the ability of the locals to
provide order and decorum of this new tourist attraction in southern Cebu. I
was told by a friend that a stampede almost happened last Saturday when the
presence of a popular basketball star and his rumored girlfriend actress added
another attraction to the local crowd.
Despite the proximity of the place to my hometown, I never
gave in to the urging of my colleagues to watch Butanding in action because
whatever it is, the sea and its inhabitants never excite me any longer. I have
been spending almost the entire teen age life in my hometown which is 30
minutes drive to where Butanding is being domesticated. Fishing in the waters
of Bohol Strait was my father's livelihood other than domesticating plants and
animals in times of murmuring sea. During vacation time like summer, I was with
him fishing day and night in the open sea. This is the same water where
Butandings swim and in the same path they traverse during their seasonal migratory route before exiting to the Visayan
Sea.
I have seen Butanding twice in the sea water of Bohol Strait
as young assistant to my fisherman father. But I could not recall the euphoria
of the public that it brought during our times unlike the publicity and the
money that Butandings' presence is now bringing to the present generation.
Butanding sighting was then considered more of a liability to the fishermen than an assset to local folks.
Because of its huge size, it scared off small fishes which were our favorite
targets. No one dared to catch them because of fear of being swallowed by its
big mouth. Besides, no one would buy their meat because of false belief
courtesy of superstition that it was the proximate cause of cholera epidemic in
the 1940's in our locality.
Since I left my hometown for a greener pasture in the city
in 1980's, I could no longer recall of a story told of Butanding's sighting
from my father. But I remembered once
having heard him telling stories how his
fishermen friends were catching Butanding in Pamilacan Island in Bohol for the
meat sold for export before it was prohibited.
Whaleshark is now one of the endangered species in the wild
according to the world-wide survey of
endangered animals. Killing them is now strictly prohibited because their
number is dwindling due to the recent realization from the foreign market that
its meat tastes good as aphrodisiac. In the Philippines, we responded to the
international call for participation to save Butanding from extinction knowing
that the Philippine waters are part of the highway of Butandings' migratory
life every year.The Donsol experience is the Philippine contribution to the
world's call to save this sea animal.
With the widespread awareness of the public on the
importance of environment in our survival, I am quite certain that it is not
too late in a day for people to realize that nature is created by God to be
man's paradise. When He created the world, it was complete and perfect to
answer everything that man needs to survive and to be happy. And yet, despite
man's greediness which wrought havoc to
nature's abundance and beauty, still God has given us time to think and
to reflect that the beach with powdery
white sand and the marine lives of varied colors in different sizes will be
gone like the Butanding if we don't do something to preserve them in the glory
of His creations. Like the trees and the
birds, they too are God's creation for us to be preserved as stewards of these
natural wonders to be appreciated by the next generation. Why not save them too
in a campaign so agressive like what we do in the case of Butanding ?
This gives me a thought to ponder and ask this question
pertaining to the public attention to the Oslob Butanding phenomenon. What have
we done to save these sea creatures from further extinction? In watching them swim in the wild, are we
helping their numbers multiply in the open sea? For those who have been there
and experienced the thrill of whaleshark watching, did you do that to find out
whether the Butandings were safe and sound or you just want to make sure that
you have seen them once in your lifetime before they will be completely gone in
the wild? For the enterprising fishermen and local businessmen including their
political leaders in the town, is feeding Butanding purposely done for them to
live or for them to be domesticated so that you will have livelihood in this
town for a living?
Until I see a comprehensive master plan to save Butanding in
Oslob, I don't see Butanding to be saved
from extinction in the near future. What I am seeing right now is a huge
saving being accumulated by the local players of this tourist attraction as
huge as the size of Butanding by making this giant sea creature into their own
money machine.
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