For their Christmas wish, fishermen in three Panglao barangays are looking to the Oasis Leisure Island Development Inc. (OLIDI) for deliverance. “This Christmas we hope something concrete will materialize regarding the reclamation project of Oasis,” leaders of the fishermen's groups said in Cebuano. The fishermen said that while life is difficult for them for as long as they can remember, they now have reason to look to the future with hope. “We have nothing to lose if we put our trust in OASIS to bail us out of our condition,” they added. According to the fishermen, the tourism in boom in Panglao has not really benefited them. They said that except for those who were employed by the existing resorts, they have not really benefited from the tourism industry.

In fact, it has been a blow to them since they are prohibited from landing in many of the resorts. “Fishermen cannot even use the barangay road leading to the sea in Bolod because the resort owner would not allow them,” they added. So aside from not being able to benefit from the tourism boom, it is in fact a setback for some of them in the said barangay. According to the fishermen, they cannot expect much from the resort owners who have not made any difference in their lives all this time. They also brushed aside hopes in NGOs whom they now look with suspicion and even disdain. “We have not seen any community that has really been developed because of the NGOs,” they added. If ever there were improvements in the lives of the host communities, they said this is nothing compared to the benefits enjoyed by NGO workers. “They claim to work for the interest of the poor communities but results do not show that,” they added.

The fishermen in the three barangays have also resented the accusations made against them by NGO workers that the change in their position toward the reclamation project was due to financial considerations. “Our lives and our future are at stake. We are more concerned about our future because we are the ones who will be affected by this project,” they added. The fishermen said it is easy for the NGO workers to insist in their own agenda because they have no stake in Panglao. They even pointed out that the NGO workers, contrary to their supposed duty of immersing in the community, have not even visited their barangays to confer with them. OLIDI, however, has committed to address their interests if the reclamation project pushes through. “At least, in the case of Oasis, they formally presented their project to us and promised to listen to our gripes through regular dialogues,” they added.(PR)