TO show that their livelihood projects still exist, affected families of the South Reclamation Project (SRP) set up booths within the Cebu City Hall grounds and sold their products.

The two-day exhibit was held over the weekend and organized by the Cebu City SRP Coastal Areas Affected Families Inc.

Alma Rusiana, the group’s overall coordinator, said more than 3,000 families are affected by the SRP.

The SRP, a project of the Cebu City government, seeks to create the city’s future central business district in the area. While neither displaced nor evicted, the affected families’ sources of livelihood have been restricted such that the city government encouraged them to develop alternative sources of income.

The figure was from the baseline survey conducted in 2006 and covered the directly and indirectly affected residents.

Rusiana said fisherfolks and seashell gatherers are directly affected by the SRP while classified as indirectly affected are those living within 100 meters of the shoreline. Fishing has already been banned in the area.

The 3,000 plus families affected came from 13 barangays, namely San Roque, Sto. Niño, Pasil, Ermita, Suba, Sawang Calero, Duljo Fatima, Mambaling, Basak San Nicolas, Basak Pardo, Kinasang-an, Cogon Pardo and Inayawan.

Rusiana said that in 2005, the Social Development Framework Plan was created through the initiative of the Cebu City government. She said the move was in compliance with the city government’s agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), which is to provide alternative livelihood projects to the affected residents.

She said the assistance given by the city government was not in the form of cash, but coursed through the projects.

The livelihood projects being offered to affected residents include meat processing, rags, candle making, siomai, fish cage and mud crab.

Rusiana said the rags and candle-making projects are among the successful projects while the mud crab project is not doing well. 

“There is high mortality rate for the mud crabs; it needs further study,” said Rusiana in Cebuano.

The rags project called “Buhay sa Trapo,” said  Visitacion Babad of Barangay Mambaling, earn them P1 per piece and P20 for 25 pieces.

Babad added she tried hog-raising, too. “The city government provided me the hog and feeds for one month.”

Misael Abrica from Barangay Basak Pardo admitted they have difficulty sustaining the fish-cage project.

“We cannot determine the weather.  There is failure due to the climate,” he said. 

The Cebu City government provided Abrica’s group with fish pens to grow bangus and tilapia.

As alternative livelihood, Abrica said they are involved in the floating-garbage project, a sanitation project.

“We trap the garbage then put them in the garbage bins. We earn P5,000 per month,” he said.

Rusiana said they choose which livelihood project is given to a certain barangay.

She said feasibility studies are conducted to know what project best suit a specific barangay.