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Sunday, May 14, 2023 Vol. 18 No. 209
THE CORALS OF CURRIMAO I
By Sigrid Salucop & Cristina Manalad
N mid-April of 2023, Dr. Joven Cuanang and the representative of Ilocos Norte’s Second Congressional District Angelo Marcos Barba embarked on a monumental project—to lead a sculpture submersion that would encourage marine biosystem regeneration. Their target date was May 1st and the underwater project’s location, they agreed, was going to be Currimao.
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Nature risk is rising, but an underwater museum might just be our saving grace
CONGRESSMAN Angelo Marcos Barba is seen explaining to his cousin, Laoag City Mayor Michael Marcos Keon, why Poblacion Bay was chosen as the submersion site. THE OFFICE OF CONGRESSMAN ANGELO MARCOS BARBA
Devoid of nightlife and vibrant city lights, Currimao is often described by locals as a sleepy town. One of Ilocos Norte’s hidden gems, this part of the Ilocano coast has a rather tranquil vibe. Visitors looking at the town from the newly constructed bay walk would see a majestic combination of coral rocks, the sea, pockets of greenery, and a few small hotels that dot its shoreline. By dusk, Currimao is more peaceful than usual and after see-
ing the sunset, local photographers would go out to capture the bay and the stars. While the Ilocano sun is scorching during summertime, the weather makes up for it by offering clear skies at night. During the colder months, when Currimao gets a proper licking from the cold front, the sea is not as peaceful. But this is just a seasonal consideration because Currimao’s waters used to contend with something worse. Dynamite fishing was rampant for a
AGNES A. ARELLANO’S Inanna was the first one to leave Sitio Remedios and the last to be submerged in Currimao’s Poblacion Bay. AGNES A. ARELLANO THE BRP Waray and its crew assisted the Office of Congressman Angelo Marcos Barba in his quest to save marine life. BRP WARAY LC288
ON April 30, 2023, sculptures were moved from their temporary home in Sitio Remedios to the Currimao Seaport to wait for BRP Waray’s arrival. This sculpture, along with 19 other works of art, was submerged in Poblacion Bay on May 1, 2023. THE OFFICE OF CONGRESSMAN ANGELO MARCOS BARBA
time and in 2010, the Philippine Coast Guard intensified measures against the illegal activity. Despite their efforts, many parts of Currimao’s waters took several hits. Coral reefs were destroyed and the catch dropped each year because of the havoc that the explosives caused. The Philippine Statistics Authority reported in 2018 that fish production in Ilocos Norte went down from 1,932.90 metric tons in 2017 to 1,653.98 metric tons the next year. It can be safely assumed that this decrease was due to the destruction of Currimao’s marine sanctuaries as the town is among the primary fishing zones in the province.
Locals already know this without looking at the numbers. Barba recalled in one meeting that in his youth, he “was not deprived of pristine waters to swim in and fresh fish to eat.” Cuanang, a native of Currimao’s neighbor Batac, shares the same experience. He built Sitio Remedios along Currimao’s coast several years ago and the small resort functions as his summer house. After many homecomings, the neurologist finally put his foot down and decided to do something for the fishing village where Sitio stands. His idea was to have several sculptures submerged underwater so that they can become Continued on A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 55.6720 n JAPAN 0.4139 n UK 69.6846 n HK 7.1052 n CHINA 8.0109 n SINGAPORE 41.8209 n AUSTRALIA 37.3058 n EU 60.7827 n KOREA 0.0418 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.8455 Source: BSP (May 12, 2023)