1-AANI from the soil and the sea

ENQUIRY
DEMAREE J.B. RAVAL

1-AANI from the soil and the sea
Saturday, 04 24, 2010

Last Wednesday was my turn to restock the depleted contents of the family fridge, so I had to negotiate my way through the cacophonous rumpus and ruckus of the seafood section of Nepa-Q-Mart. I was contemplating with my usual Ilocano frugal state of mind whether to settle for the lowly galunggong or to dent my wallet with the purchase of the tastier but more expensive lapu-lapu, when my attention was drawn toward a group handing out leaflets. I thought two of them looked familiar and, sure enough, they turned out to be former UP students of mine.

One is now a lawyer based in Samar, and he told me that he has been practising there since passing the bar in 1993. His clients: the fisher folk in that depressed province in the Visayas. He was honest enough to admit to me that the financial returns for his lawyering may not be that good as compared to his compañeros in the big city. But the psychic rewards, he said, are more than he could ask for - especially when he sees the joy that lights up the faces of his poor clients. Solving fishermen’s legal problems and helping improve their lives was enough to keep him locked to that kind of law practice.

My other student, I learned, is now a social entrepreneur. Six years ago, according to her, she established a taho factory - yes, taho; she didn’t put on any airs and call it “soy yoghurt” - and the proceeds of this “unlawyerly” enterprise are used to fund various socio-civic projects in Metro Manila and her home province of Bulacan. In her social enterprise, livelihood opportunities are given to farmers from Pampanga, Bulacan and Nueva Ecija who find themselves idle in between the planting and harvest seasons. While working in Manila, these farmers are given a decent place to stay in the factory premises and are even encouraged to join the management's weekly Bible studies.

It was evident that these two are happy and content in what they are doing now. They are especially proud of the uplift they have brought to the spirits of the farmers and vendors who at last discover their self-worth and dignity after interaction with these two social activists. Before, these farmers and vendors regarded themselves as nobodies, insignificant members of the society, and wallowed in self-pity, dismissing themselves with phrases such as "ganito lang kasi kami"; "mahirap lang kami"; "kain po tayo, pero pasensya po at pangmahirap lang ang pagkain namin" and other expressions of low self-esteem. Everything’s changed now. After a few months of weekly Bible studies in the factory, the farmers eventually felt empowered and then became regular volunteers of the factory's socio-civic projects.

In early 2007, attorneys Angel Gatmaitan and Mayen de los Santos led a group of individuals driven by their advocacies to uplift the quality of life in their respective towns and provinces, and formed a bloc that will embody their common vision. 2007 and 2008 turned out to be fruitful years. They spearheaded projects and activities involving small-scale lending, food-for-the-orphanage programs, a mini-library, medical and legal aid, sea-weed farming and other livelihood seminars in different towns and provinces.

The response among the beneficiaries of the project was so heartening that sometime in mid-2009, a member organization proposed the idea of joining the Party-list System of Elections. From this core group burst forth the cluster of organizations and individuals making up the party-list now known as 1-AANI.

For the May 10 elections, 1-AANI is now on overdrive, gaining support from its member organizations and other groups of individuals as well as other sectors of society to represent the farmers, fishermen and the marginalized. In fact, members of the Philippine Association of Ex-Seminarians and members of other socio-civic organizations are supporting the group. They have witnessed the projects and believe that winning a seat in this year’s elections will enable the group to replicate their ongoing projects on a much wider scale, benefiting more people, especially the least fortunate among the tillers of the soil and toilers of the sea.

1-AANI, even before its accreditation as a party list organization, already has a track record to speak of, and is not just one of those run-of-the-mill organizations that make themselves visible once every three years attempting to join the Congress of the Philippines.

The nominees of 1-AANI for the May 10, 2010 elections are 1) Atty. Timm Renomeron, a lawyer, former editor of the Philipppine Law Journal, and copra trader from Nurauen, Leyte; 2) Marvyn Gaerlan, a two-time University Student Councilor in UP Diliman, now a working student taking up law, and the coordinator of the Samar Seaweed Farming Project; 3) Eddie Catalo, a self-supporting law graduate and seafood trader from Boronggan, Eastern Samar; 4) Antonio Mirador, a municipal councilor for 12 years, who has been in the fishing business since 1976 and former vice-president of the Samar Fishermen Association; and 5) Atty. Anghel Gatmaitan, a lawyer from Bulacan, a volunteer for various socio-civic causes.

With the presence of these young men of the 1-AANI in the House of Representatives in the Fifteenth Congress, the marginalized sector that has benefitted from them in all these years will finally have a voice to articulate their concerns and enact them into law.

On top of the legislative agenda of 1-AANI, according to Atty. Gatmaitan, is the introduction of amendments to the Fisheries Code and the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act, designed to expand the credit and other support facilities available to those in the agriculture and fishery sector.

In English, the party’s name means “to harvest.” Expect, then, 1-AANI to harvest, for the sector it has sworn to represent in the House of Representatives, a bounty of laws that will serve the needs of the fisherfolk and farmers.

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