A day in no-man’s land ©2004

NOTHING but dusty potholes and loose gravel roads lay between Marawi City and the town that lies 32 kilometers further south of the city outskirts. It was once called the no-man’s land of Lanao del Sur which is on the island of strife-torn Mindanao.

In a 2000 census, the town of Maguing listed 18,095 residents and all of them are Muslims. Not a tincture of Christian blood could be found in this town that even Muslims from Marawi City are sometimes reluctant to go to.

When the group I was with visited Maguing in September 22, 2004, it was the first day of Ramadan. Almost every Muslim we met was in a state of piety that day. For more than a billion Muslims worldwide, Ramadan is a time of prayer, fasting, and charity.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Islam uses a lunar calendar where each month begins with the sighting of a new moon. The lunar calendar is about 11 days shorter than the solar calendar which is used elsewhere.

A young Muslim teacher told me that Islamic holidays ‘move’ each year. This year, however, Ramadan began on September 24. Ramadan also precedes Christmas and Hanukkah. In many places, the two Christian and Jewish holidays has become widely commercialized. Ramadan, on the other hand, retains its focus on self-sacrifice and devotion to Allah (God).

I asked myself why Muslims observe Ramadan on September. I found out that Muslims believe that Allah revealed the first verses of the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, on a September. Around 610 A.D., a caravan trader named Muhammad wandered on the desert near Mecca (in today's Saudi Arabia) while thinking about his faith. One night a voice called on him from the night sky. It was the angel Gabriel who told Muhammad he had been chosen to receive the word of Allah. In the days that followed, Muhammad found himself speaking the verses that would be transcribed as the Qur'an.

During Ramadan, about one thirtieth of the Qur'an is recited in mosques each night in prayers known as tarawih. Through this process, the complete scripture will have been recited in the whole month of September.

During Ramadan, Muslims practice sawm, or fasting, for the entire month. This means that they may eat or drink nothing, including water, while the sun shines. Fasting is one of the Five Pillars (duties) of Islam. As with other Islamic duties, all able Muslims take part in sawm starting from age twelve.

During Ramadan, Muslims close their restaurants during the daylight hours. Families get up early for suhoor, a meal eaten before the sun rises. After the sun sets, the fast is broken with a meal known as iftar. Iftar usually begins with dates and sweet drinks that provide a quick energy boost. In Maguing, only the small stores remain open.

For the Muslims of Lanao del Sur and in other parts of the world, I was told that fasting serves many purposes. While experiencing hunger and thirst, Muslims are reminded of the suffering of the poor. Fasting is also an opportunity to practice self-control and to cleanse the body and mind. And in this most sacred month, fasting helps Muslims feel the peace that comes from spiritual devotion as well as kinship with fellow believers.

In Lanao del Sur, Maranao is the most commonly spoken language. Also spoken by the people are Tagalog and Cebuano, as well as English and Arabic.

The native Maranao of Lanao del Sur have a fascinating culture that revolves around kulintang music, a specific type of gong music, found among Muslim and non-Muslim groups of the Southern Philippines.

Lanao del Sur forms the western portion of Northern Mindanao. It is bounded on the north by Lanao del Norte, on the east by Bukidnon, on the west by Illana Bay, and on the south by Maguindanao and Cotabato. The landscape is dominated by rolling hills and valleys, placid lakes and rivers.

Imams or Muslim holy men are regarded as caretakers and keepers of mosques. These savants are considered the elder wise men of Islam and are accorded respect.

The climate in the province is characterized by even distribution of rainfall throughout the year, without a distinct summer season. The province is located outside the typhoon belt.

When my group arrived in Maguing in the middle of the night, it was freezing cold. I wondered why we had to travel at night on this seemingly dangerous area. Our good host was a relative of the mayor and is regarded to be one of the most influential people in the province.

This is not the first time I traveled outside Marawi City. I have been to other Lanao municipalities but traveling in this remote area at night really gave me the goose.

Marawi City is the capital of Lanao del Sur, a principality that lies on the northern part of Mindanao. It is a rugged territory overlooking picturesque Lake Lanao. The province belongs to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) where an election for a new governor recently took place. The election results were marred by complaints of frauds filed by candidates who lost.

Lanao comes from the word ranao, meaning "lake." Lanao centers on the basin of Lake Lanao; thus, it is the land of the Maranaos, the "people of the lake."

When the Spaniards first explored Lanao in 1689, they found a well-settled community called Dansalan which was located at the lake's northern end. Dansalan became a municipality in 1907 and a city in 1940, although it was inaugurated as such only in 1950. In 1956, Republic Act No. 1352 changed the name Dansalan to Marawi, from the word rawi, referring to the reclining lilies in the Agus River.

When Lanao was divided into two provinces under Republic Act No. 2228 in 1959, Marawi was made the capital of Lanao del Sur. In 1980, the city was renamed the Islamic City of Marawi. It is now the only chartered city in the country with a predominantly Muslim population. In a 1989 plebiscite, Lanao del Sur voted to join the ARMM, but Marawi City elected to remain outside ARMM.

The long bumpy ride from Marawi City to Maguing eventually brought us to a wooden bridge built over the Potian River, a tributary that connects to Lake Lanao. The river is the source of life for the residents of this town. It provides the water needed to wash their clothes and irrigate their farmlands. It is also the source of deep wells that provide the drinking waters they need for daily nourishment.

Our guide and host, Abdulrashid Ding Ladayo, a resident Muslim and a former Manila Times correspondent, told me that my group of five are the first non-Muslims to be accorded entry into their town for a very long time.

“The people of Maguing are very friendly but they are also very suspicious of unfamiliar faces,” Ladayo said. “That is probably the reason why Christians are hesitant to come here.”

The 6th class town of Maguing is as rustic as ever. Except for a few material objects like color televisions, DVD players and mini-components, no other un-Islamic influence can be found here – albeit for the more obvious shampoo and election posters stapled or plastered on walls of sari-sari stores and electric posts.

A few roads leading to the municipal building are paved but the rest that led to the town’s 36 barangays are indications that government has long forgotten this enclave.

A golden mosque in Barangay Pagalongan stands still as a symbol of the Islamic faith. In the morning, a call for prayers echo from the minaret as the imam recites verses from the Qur'an - calling the faithful to worship Allah.

Since it was Ramadan, the residents of Maguing were more attentive to their religiosity rather than to pry on us.

Once a hotbed of the secessionist war, the mountainous terrain that surrounded the town still cast a shadow of death and destruction.During the onslaught of the Moro rebellion against the Marcos government in 1972, fierce battles between the Philippine Army 6th IB Tabak Division and 5,000 Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) fighters and a special guerilla unit under the command of Commander Narra raged in the thick jungles of Karandangan Kalasan, for 76 days and nights.During the battles and skirmishes, hundreds of government troops were reported killed in this unfamiliar terrain while a lesser number was suffered by the rebels.

Today, after three decades of conflict, an uncertain peace has finally nestled on the fertile grounds of Lanao del Sur, or at least in this municipality, where the legendary Sultan Mangoda Hadji Salam, also known as Commander Tiger of the MNLF Central Ranao Revolutionary State, now finds solace. Salam is now a farmer and the president of the Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) of the Benito Memorial High School in Barangay Pagalongan.

“I prefer to farm now than fire my rifle,” Salam said. “War is terrible. The faces of death are simply unforgettable.”

According to a published report by the Livelihood Enhancement and Peace (LEAP) Program, a macro-economic project partly sponsored by the US and Philippine governments, Commander Tiger’s name was synonymous to notoriety especially to people he once regarded as enemies. But in 1996, this reputation was put to a test after the Philippine government and the MNLF signed a peace accord ending more than 20 years of armed conflict.

“It was not an easy task, Commander Tiger said. “When I returned, the place was almost deserted. It had become a vast wasteland with tall grasses reaching as high as three meters,” he recalls. “Most of the residents have relocated to Marawi City.”

The once fearless leader have turned to farming ever since the LEAP Program provided him, and 74 other former MNLF combatants in the area, with production inputs and technical means for agricultural production.

“I was away from my wife and seven children for a long time. I did not even see my children grow up,” he said.

Commander Tiger’s leadership skills, honed in the guerilla movement, were put to good use when LEAP was introduced to his hometown in 1997.

“Most members were skeptical about the project,” he recounts. “I had to show them that we could do it.”

He braved the heat of the sun and planted corn himself. Today, aside from being an entrepreneurial farmer, Commander Tiger also spends time to look into the affairs of the Benito Memorial High School, where he is the current PTA president.

The school was built in 1998 on a lot donated by Sultan Tingagen Macaaqir. When I was there, the teachers here lamented to me that the government has not paid them their back wages for six months.

When the group I was traveling with, arrived to donate DepEd-approved textbooks purchased through an NGO-LGU partnership program, the school suddenly burst with activity.

“The government does not provide us with books that will help educate the children of Maguing,” said Tapnai Molok, OIC principal of the Benito Memorial High School. “If not for your books, then we will practically have nothing to read.”

Perennial problems mentioned by Molok is a redundant cry bewailed by teachers in almost all public schools in Mindanao. A few blocks from the Benito Memorial High School is the partially-dilapidated Malungun Elementary School. I was surprised to see a grade three pupil struggling - with twisted tongue - to recite in broken English, a Philippine patriotic poem scribbled on the blackboard by his teacher.

The classroom was unlit except for the morning sunlight that made its way through the embroidered drapes. The Muslim teacher said they had to make do with available sunlight to illuminate the room, and normally, classes are dismissed before lunch.

But despite the primordial needs of the schools here, the town of Maguing seems to be thriving to move onward from its arrested development. New roads, bridges and other infrastructures are still awaiting construction by the administration of Mayor Hakim Abinal.

Despite the optimistic vision of transforming the town into a more social-friendly habitat, contrasting sights seemed quite noticeable. In a semi built-up area, Dream cable satellite discs mounted on rooftops of several residential houses reflect the status of the dwellers – it is also an indication that the well-off residents of Maguing are hungry for news from the outside world.

It seems rather odd, however, that parents who earn a living from whatever means could afford to spend money to buy televisions and DVD players, yet could not provide the needed books for their children. Searching for logical answers, I began to wonder: “Where do the people of Maguing get their livelihood, aside from planting rice and corn?” I expected an answer from my host but he simply shrugged off the question with a smile.

On the road again, and on our way back to Marawi City after spending a freezing evening in one of the more comfortable modern houses found in no-man’s land, Mitsubishi Pajeros and colorful jeepneys would again zoom past us – all heading to the direction of Maguing and vice-versa.

Despite the bad roads, old dilapidated houses, and a few stylish concrete houses, and whether or not it is a sign of suspended progress and prosperity, this old town branded with infamy during the war years seemed to be willing to catch up with the rest of its neighbors.

After my visit to the place, my Muslim friends from the academe who are based in Marawi City asked me with great amazement, why, of all places in Mindanao, did I go to Maguing? Rumor goes that a lot of illegal activities happen in this remote town. However, nothing of that sort came to my attention. All I saw were several late model Pajeros with unsuspecting drivers and passengers passing by the gravel road. Then I wondered how much a Pajero costs.

Endless nirvana in Montemar ©2006

NOVEMBER is pawikan month in Bagac, Bataan. In Filipino parlance, a turtle is called a pawikan. The pawikan in Bagac Bay like to lay their eggs at Montemar beach because in a sense, they feel safe and assured that their hatchlings will find their way to the sea where they truly belong.

Unlike in other coastal municipalities in the Philippines, pawikan are mercilessly slaughtered for their meat and shells. Their eggs are being sold to aphrodisiac freaks for a meager sum of ten pesos (.20 US cents) each. I have heard of tales from fishermen that a pawikan sheds tears when about to be butchered.

Montemar beach is a beautiful place to unwind. I have been going back and forth to the place since I first arrived in Bataan in 1980, to work in the documentation of the construction of the Philippine nuclear power plant. Unfortunately, the plant was mothballed in 1985 due to political pressures from anti-Marcos groups.

Bataan is a peninsula located in Central Luzon. It has several picturesque mountain ranges where Communist rebels once roamed. Although the big trees in the mountains and forests of Bataan are rapidly being felled by unscrupulous loggers with their chainsaws, the terrain still looks virginal. Today, only a handful, hardcore rebels still make Bataan their enclave. No more ratatat in Bataan.

Montemar beach is on the western side of the Bataan peninsula. It is facing the blue South China Sea. Today, the place is known as an exclusive resort where Manila’s affluent come to escape the hustle and bustle of the metropolis.

Montemar beach is about two kilometers from my house in Bagac and for 27 years served as my place of retreat. Whenever I wanted peace of mind I go to this place. Whenever I need to meditate I go to this place. Whenever I need to drink ice-cold San Miguel I go to this place. The Montemar pool is also a nice place to jump into on a hot sunny day. Yes … never was there a dull moment I could think of every time I talk about this beautiful place.

The town of Bagac is exactly 151 kms. from Manila by car - about two hours drive on a normal day. Driving at night would be much quicker. It can also be reached by overloaded motorized banca (outrigger) from Morong and Mariveles.

In Montemar, Pawikan Day is celebrated on the fourth day of November. And on the 25th of the same month, the residents of Bagac celebrate the birthday of their patron Saint Catherine de Alexandria. Bagac is a predominantly Roman Catholic town. Just like in any municipality in the Philippines, the people of Bagac religiously go to church every Sunday to hear mass. The followers of el Shaddai congregate at the town plaza once a week to sing their songs of joy and miracles. And much of every weekend, visitors and tourists also flock to this town. Yet the town remains sleepy.

In the last three years, the management of Montemar Beach Club has entered into a joint agreement with the Community and Environment and Natural Resources Office and the local government unit to protect the pawikan found in Bagac Bay.

Since then, hundreds of pawikan – Olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) turtles in particular - had been saved. Thousands of hatchlings had been released to the sea. The management of Montemar Beach Club has constructed a recovery and rehabilitation pond just near the water, were wounded and exhausted pawikan can be treated and released back to the seas.

I heard that the Olive ridley turtles are now endangered in Mexico and threatened elsewhere. The turtle was named after H.N Ridley FRS, who was on the island of Fernando de Noronha, and in Brazil in 1887. As both its common and species names imply, the overall color of this turtle is olive green.

I was also told that the Olive has a sister specie which is called the Kemp's ridley. It is a small sea turtle, usually less than 100 pounds (45 kilograms). The most obvious difference between the Olive ridley and the Kemp's ridley is the number of costal scutes of the upper shell. The olive ridley has from 5 to 9 costals and 7 vertebral scutes. Kemp's ridley has 5 costals, and 5 vertebrals.

Not so long ago, these turtles were called the Pacific and Atlantic ridley respectively, but the discovery of Lepidochelys olivacea off the Atlantic coast of South America necessitated a name change. This is an omnivorous turtle which feeds on crustaceans, mollusks and tunicates. An average clutch size is over 110 eggs which require a 52 to 58 day incubation period.

The Olive ridley inhabits tropical and subtropical coastal bays and estuaries. It is very oceanic in the Eastern Pacific and probably elsewhere too. These animals are found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and along the Atlantic coast of West Africa and the Atlantic coast of South America. How they found their way to Montemar, only God knows.

In the Eastern Pacific it occurs from Southern California to Northern Chile. Large nesting aggregations called "arribadas" still occur in Pacific Costa Rica, primarily at Nancite and Ostionales and Pacific Mexico at La Escobilla, Oaxaca. According to the Marine Turtle Newsletter (October 1993), an estimated 500,000 nesting females came ashore during a single week in March, 1991 at Gahirmatha Orissa, India.

According to a current threats and historic reasons for decline in the number of global Olive ridley turtles, the last large arribada beach in India is threatened with disaster by the development of a major fishing port and a prawn culture facility. In fact, it threatens the entire Bhitarkanika Sanctuary in which the beach is located.

On the Mexican Pacific Coast of the states of Jalisco, Michoacan, Guerrero and Oaxaca, past large scale exploitation for meat, eggs and leather reduced the once large arriabas to dangerously low levels. In June of 1990, Mexico declared total protection for this species as well as the other species of sea turtles inhabiting Mexican waters, but there is still a trade on the black market.

In 1993, 350,000 nests were recorded in Escobilla, Oaxaca (Marquez, 1994, pers. comm.). Mexico has recently opened the Mexican Turtle Center at Mazunte, Oaxaca, near the site of a former turtle slaughter house. Hopefully, some of the same individuals who formerly killed turtles will be able to earn a living by protecting them and educating visitors about them. Despite Mexican initiatives to protect the Olive ridley, this same population is still exploited in the black market in Mexico and harvested as it feeds along the Pacific coasts of Nicaragua and Ecuador. In Bagac, Bataan, a group of marginal fishermen banded together to protect and preserve the Olive ridley that arribada in the coastal areas of the municipality.

A closer look at the pawikan, one will notice that the head of an Olive ridley is quite small. Carapace is bony without ridges and has large scutes (scales) present. Carapace has 6 or more lateral scutes and is nearly circular and smooth. Its body is deeper than the very similar Kemp's ridley sea turtle. Both the front and rear flippers have 1 or 2 visible claws. There is sometimes an extra claw on the front flippers. Juveniles are charcoal grey in color, while adults are a dark grey green. Hatchlings are black when wet with greenish sides.

An adult Olive ridley measures 2 to 2.5 feet (62-70 cm) in carapace length and weights between 77 and 100 pounds (35-45 kg).

They can be found in coastal bays and estuaries, but can be very oceanic over some parts of its range. They typically forage off shore in surface waters or dive to depths of 500 feet (150 m) to feed on bottom dwelling crustaceans.

They nest twice every year and lay an average of over 105 eggs in each nest. Eggs incubate for about 55 days. An average clutch size is over 110 eggs which require a 52 to 58 day incubation period.

Under the U.S. Federal Endangered Species Act, the Olive ridley is listed as ‘Threatened (likely to become endangered, in danger of extinction, within the foreseeable future).’ It is also listed as ‘Endangered (facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future)’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

Threats to survival of these turtles are the direct harvest of adults and eggs, incidental capture in commercial fisheries and loss of nesting habitat are the main threats to this species. The Olive ridley has a global population estimate of 800,000 nesting females. The Olive ridley's life span is believed to be between 50 and 60 years. They reach reproductive maturity at 10 to 15 years of age, and are reproductively active for nearly 21 years.

Olive ridley nest (lay their eggs) in large groups of females called arribadas or arribazones (a derivation of the Spanish word for "arrival"). In preparation for the arribada, females gather off the coast, and then emerge to nest together ashore. In the past, as many as one million nesting females have been seen during an arribada that spanned several days on the same beach. Today, Olive ridley arribadas consist of, at most, a few thousand nesting females.

The main nesting grounds are on the shores of the Pacific Ocean around Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, and the Northern Indian Ocean, where the turtle nests abundantly in eastern India and Sri Lanka. Olive ridleys nest two to three times per nesting season, which occurs every one to two years. Nesting, which always occurs at night, takes between 45 minutes to an hour, after which time the female ridleys return to the ocean and disperse in many different directions. Depending on geographic location, nesting occurs from June to December, peaking in September and October. After a 55-day incubation, hatchlings emerge from the nests small—about 1.5" long and weighing less than an ounce—and are black with greenish sides

Of all the sea turtles, Olive ridley populations are relatively healthy. Still, there are so few left that in 1978, the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed the Mexican nesting populations of Olive ridleys as endangered—and all others throughout the world as threatened. Despite this action, Olive ridley populations have actually shown a decline in abundance since their ESA listing as threatened, and at this time, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) lists all populations of olive ridleys as endangered. Olive ridleys are also listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES), which means that trade in Olive ridleys, their eggs or any part or product derived from the turtle is forbidden.

Olive ridleys suffer high mortality rates from gill nets and trawl fisheries. They also fall victim to water pollution. Adding to these environmental hazards, the Olive ridley is jeopardized by trade, too: highly prized in Japan for its meat and eggs, the turtle is illegally hunted to supply this trade. Finally, occasionally on beaches where arribadas occur, there is a natural breakdown of nest contents, which creates fungus and bacteria that destroys the buried sea turtle eggs. This natural occurrence contributes to large discrepancies in Olive ridley populations from year to year.

In Montemar, the Olive ridley turtles have attracted more visitors to the resort. Children are the number one fans of the pawikan. The children learn a lot from interacting with the pawikan. They become aware of protecting and preserving the environment and the vast marine resources of the country.

The children learn a great deal from their exposures with the pawikan. They learn something they normally don’t acquire from schools. The children who interacted with the pawikan also learned how the turtles adopted to land and sea conditions – something they don’t get to learn in school. Just looking at the faces of the children interacting with the pawikan is enough to know that they enjoyed the company of the exotic animals.

But Montemar is not just a place for pawikan. It is in the first place, a place where people can find pristine serenity. It is a place where one can interact with the sea and its surroundings. It is a place where visitors can experience the hospitality of the Bagakeños.

Almost a century ago, the Americans converted half of the Bataan Peninsula into a military reservation. They erected fortifications and installed huge canons supposedly to protect Manila from perceived invading forces. Today, the canons and fortifications had been replaced with recreational watercrafts.

Unfortunately, the American defenses proved to be useless and powerless against the invading Japanese forces. Bagac was the site of many battles where thousands of Japanese soldiers died trying to overrun American defenses in Bagac, Mariveles and Pilar.

Every year, hundreds of relatives of Japanese war veterans still visit the Death March shrine in Bagac. They offer flowers and Buddhist prayers to the thousands of soldiers who died during the war. They sound the giant Buddhist bronze bell at the tower to call for forgiveness and long lasting peace.

The infamous Death March was coined to dramatize the sacrifices and bravery of thousands of ‘battling bastards’ who were forced to walk from Bataan to Pampanga after they surrendered to the Japanese in 1942. The long march started in Bagac and a ‘zero’ kilometer marker was erected by the Filipino American Memorial Endowment to mark the place where man’s brutality to man in this part of the world started.

Because of its historical significance, the town also became a byword to history buffs. The construction of the nuclear power plant in Napot Point, the hosting of the Philippine Refugee Processing Center in Morong, and the Filipino-Japanese Friendship tower in Bagac added more points of interest to the province.

Visitors in Montemar can actually get a glimpse of the mothballed power plant while playing golf at the resort’s nine-hole course. The course has lush green links surrounded by sandtraps and bushes. Talisay trees provide the shade needed by golfers on a hot and humid day. It is also a nice picnic spot.

One thing I like about the place is that it is very near Metropolitan Manila. There may be places similar to Bagac in other parts of Luzon but to me, this place has a unique ambience that continues to give me endless nirvana everytime I indulge in its beauty.

Kids simply find this place the perfect playground. The pool, the hanging bridge, the swings, and the lush bermuda grass provide ample playing fields for the children and their yayas.

So, what else can you ask for in a place called Montemar? The food is exotic and the beer is always cold. A cold shake or a margarita can be mixed in a minute or two by the resident bartender.

And the women are simply breathtaking. A mermaid on the rocks is a perennial offering on a hot summer day in Montemar. Other resorts in Bagac also have their own mermaids on the rocks.

So what else is new in Montemar aside from the pawikan, mermaids, margarita, ice-cold San Miguel, cozy rooms, white sand beach, lobsters and snorkeling?

Well, there’s volleyball, adventure hikes to nearby waterfalls and rivers. Mountain climbing or simply hanging out in the bar overlooking the South China Sea.

Lovers can also find Montemar to be enticing enough to have their weddings by the sea. A sizzling bonfire could heat up the fervor among newly-weds just in time to catch the setting sun on the horizon.

Last December, Montemar was the venue of a wedding reception where hundreds of guests from Manila came with their SUVs and luxury sedans. They came to see if it was really true that turtles roam freely in the resort. They came to see how hatchlings race to the sea. They came to embrace the wind and see the famous Montemar sunset.

Yes … the sunset in Montemar is simply breathtaking, especially if you’re listening to Sting’s Dream of the blue turtle. To me, it’s simply nirvana. Now who wants to go to this place? Be my guest.

Author's Note: I spent three months photographing the turtles and the people of Montemar beach. My photo documentation started on November 2005 and ended January 2006. Almost a year after, the turtle population in the resort has tripled, and after being tagged on their fins, have been dispersed to the seas by the management of Montemar under the direct supervision of municipal and provincial environmental officers.

The turtles are beautiful and caring animals of the deep. They should remain free for they are the dwellers of the yonder seas. Man should stop annihilating them. This November, the Montemar people will be releasing more adult Olive ridleys and their hatchlings to the sea in celebration of Pawikan Day.