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FILIPINO WOMEN IN COASTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT THE NEED FOR SOCIAL RECOGNITION by Enrique G. Oracion Silliman University Dumaguete City, Philippines SMA Working Paper Series 2001-08 For comments address correspondence to the author at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Silliman University, Dumaguete City 6200, Philippines or ike@su.edu.ph 2 Abstract Coastal resources management may mean as a program or as the production and utilization of existing resources. This paper deals with the latter meaning particularly about the role women played but
ends up as well with the examination on how women are or could be involved in coastal resource
management program per se. It is the objective of this paper to respond to the challenge of feminist
environmental groups of recognizing the emerging visibility of women, particularly the wives, in all
aspects of the local economy. This is done by showing the reasons why women have to be regarded as
important stakeholders whose contributions are vital together with the men in the management of scarce
resources particularly in subsistence fishing households. How subsistence fishing-based communities in the Philippines perceived the intensity of scarcity of food resources is evident on the way they cope with it and on the variations how men and women
responded reflected in the different activities they perform in order to earn. Diversification of economic
activities is one of many coping mechanisms practiced by households who remained in the community
while other members migrated. Women have to be involved more in fishing related activities while they
are also saddled with domestic tasks in order to ensure the survival of their respective families without
relying so much on their husbands. And the differential experiences of men and women due to the
gendered construction of their socialization and responsibilities result to how they vary in relating with
the environment. The growing major involvement of wives to ensure household survival as well as in the local fishing economy give them the right to be considered as stakeholders also, not only their husbands, in the
pursuit of the objectives of any community coastal resource management program. They have to be
involved equally with men in all aspects of the program and their concerns have to be likewise
recognized. And the case of the community-based coastal resources management program of Apo Island
in the Philippines demonstrates how the women were involved during the initial stage of its
implementation up to the present. 3 Introduction The alarming state of food resources in Filipino coastal communities is an index of the extent of the deterioration of the marine environment of the country due to the combined effects of destructive and
overfishing, industrial pollution and population pressure. In fact, this have triggered the implementation
of various environmental programs designed to curtail the further destruction of this important resource
base of Filipinos for protein food. Their common theme is the promotion of proper resource management
through sustainable use of coastal resources in order to slow down the pace of their depletion if ever the
process is irreversible. It should be noted, however, that the concept of coastal resources management may mean as a program or as the production and utilization of existing resources. As a program, it involves protection,
preservation, and rehabilitation of resources through informal or formal mechanisms like the
promulgation of policies and ordinances or laws by the local and the national government units and
realized through the collective participation of non-government and people’s organizations (e.g. Oracion
1997). While as an activity, it includes the wise and sustainable use of scarce resources in coastal
communities, both marine and terrestrial. It also involves the introduction of alternative or diversified
activities and use of resources by the local people as coping mechanisms to reduce pressure on dwindling
supply. The latter concept of coastal resource management is given more treatment in this paper particularly about the role women played. However, it ends also with the examination on how women are
or could be involved in coastal resource management program per se. Ultimately, the objective of this
paper is to respond to the challenge of feminist environmental groups of recognizing the emerging
visibility of women, particularly the wives, in all aspects of the local economy. This could be done by
showing the reasons why women have to be regarded as important stakeholders whose contributions are
vital together with the men in the management of scarce resources particularly in subsistence fishing
households. Gendered Responses to Resource Scarcity How the residents of subsistence fishing-based communities in the Philippines perceived the intensity of scarcity of food resources is evident on the way they cope with it and on the variations how
men and women responded reflected in the different activities they perform in order to earn. The
difference, however, should not diminish what each has contributed to household survival. In fact, even
small children who are supposed to be in school are also allowed or made to work by their parents in
fishing or farming related activities to contribute to what little income the parents earned (Oracion 1998b,
Abregana 1999a). This simply indicates that household survival is everyone’s concern among the poor
Filipinos. Male and female members of the households who felt that the community has not much to offer to improve their condition decided to leave to find work outside in urban centers as factory workers or
domestic helpers. There are also some adult and adolescent males who are recruited as crew members in
commercial or deep-sea fishing operations popularly known as muro-ami based in other islands. Their
employment keep them away from the community for several months and they only return for a vacation
or a family visit or during fiesta with their savings or income (Sobritchea 1994: 287, Oracion 1998a: 38).
Families of individuals who joined in deep-sea fishing are allowed to have cash advances in cash or in
kind which encourage them more to join the fishing expedition (Abregana 1999a: 53). Every fishing
expedition usually last for ten months. 4 The men who are contented with whatever income generating activities they have remained in the community. Aside from small-scale fishing using hook and line, nets and fish traps, they are either
engaged in blacksmithing, farming, carpentry and wood carving, tuba gathering and caring of livestock.
The women aside from involving themselves in fishing related activities like gleaning, spent their time
either in nipa thatching or trading, mat weaving, livestock raising, farming and vegetable raising, vending
of vegetables and cooked food, tending a sari-sari store, laundry servicing for well-off households,
providing health services based on massage, selling souvenir items to tourists, dressmaking and
hairdressing (Tanchuling 1993: 12; Sobritchea 1994: 288; Shields, Flora, Thomas-Slayter and Buenavista
1996: 163; Oracion 1998a: 39). In Apo Island particularly, there are few women who have the
opportunity to work as cook and food server in the two resorts and restaurants catering to tourists built
right in the island. And it is evident that both men and women resorted to a combination of the foregoing
activities to maximize income. To compare specifically how husbands and wives perform amidst resource scarcity, household data from the study of Sobritchea (1994: 288), as an example, show that a good number of wives reported
to be very much involved in fishing aside from the other productive activities they are engaged with
which give them income. But there are also women who reported to be not involved in any productive
activities and consider themselves as only housewives. And this may bring the wrong impression that
they are not contributing at all to the household economy. In most cases, there are Filipino women who
do not report their menial economic activity at home because they consider their husbands to have such
major responsibility. Meanwhile, the data in Table 1 show that some women in the sample are more
diversified in productive endeavors while the husbands (83 percent) seem to be very focused in fishing.
This is expected for husbands because the community is more dependent on the sea for subsistence and
has limited opportunity for them to engage much in farming. Nevertheless, there are also a number of
husbands who are able to diversify their income sources. Table 1. Production Activities of Adult Filipino Men and Women in a Fishing Community (n= 30 Households) Men Percent Women Percent Fishing 83.00 Gleaning 50.00 Blacksmithing 20.00 Fish Trading 37.00 Farming 16.00 Join Husband in Fishing 33.00 Carpentry/Wood Carving 13.00 Nipa Thatching 27.00 Tuba Gathering 3.00 Vending Cooked Food 7.00 Caretaker of Farm Animals 3.00 Laundry Service 7.00 Hairdressing 3.00 None 20.00 Source: Sobritchea (1994: 288) The comparison of what men and women in the same fishing community are doing at home also indicates greater diversity for the latter. However, the data does not reflect the amount of time spent. But
at least the quality of tasks done suggests that the women are able to do more domestic tasks compared to
their husbands because the latter spend more time at sea fishing which is commonly the case. This is
particularly true during peak season for fishing or when they fish away from shore that will take them
days, like between 2 to 5 days for those who have motorized banca. But even when not out in the sea
husbands still do some fishing related activities like repairing the fishnet or the boat. Nonetheless, they
take the more strenuous domestic tasks like gathering and chopping firewood or fetching water from a 5 source which is usually farther away from the house. Meanwhile, the wives take major responsibility in
preparing the food, washing of clothes, cleaning, and caring the children. But there are also those who
help their husbands in repairing fishnet. In some households, grown-up children assist their parents or
take some major roles in doing domestic tasks. Table 2. Domestic Activities of Adult Filipino Men and Women in a Fishing Community (n= 30 Households) Men Percent Women Percent Gather and Chop Firewood 47.00 Food Preparation 57.00 Repair Fishnet 33.00 Wash Clothes 40.00 Fetch Water 27.00 Clean House and Yard 33.00 Child Care 10.00 Child Care 27.00 Boat Repair 10.00 Gather and Chop Firewood 27.00 Repair Fishnet 20.00 Raising Livestock 10.00 Source: Sobritchea (1994: 290) Meanwhile, the involvement of wives in fishing-related activities, which is seen as a departure from their traditional task, also indicates how difficult life is at present particularly that some were not
into actual fishing before. In fact, this becomes more pronounced during times that husbands are
particularly unable to fish because of bad weather condition or when they are sick. But nonetheless, there
are also wives who work separate from their husbands in order to have autonomy and freedom to spend
what they earned without asking their husband’s approval (e.g. Illo and Polo 1990: 106). This is an
interesting development but the general perception in the community remains that women’s involvement
in economic activities is only supplementary to their husbands’ (Tanchuling 1993: 12). This is an
example of a cultural norm that persists to exist despite its becoming impractical and irrational in the
context of the present economic crisis. In fact, a comparison made on how much work adult men and
women undertake shows that men do 22 percent more productive works than women while the latter
perform 70 percent more of the reproductive tasks (Lachica 1993: 24-25). This suggests that women cross
task boundaries more often than the men. Involvement of Women in the Local Fishing Economy To describe the extent of the involvement of women in the traditional domain (i.e. fishing) of men, a report shows that of the seven women who participated in a focus group discussion in a coastal
community in southern Philippines, four were primarily involved in pre-harvest and post-harvest fishing
activities and three actually participated in fishing out in the sea (Abregana 1999b: 13). In another report,
ten out of the thirty or one out of three wives interviewed have joined their husbands in actual fishing
(Sobritchea 1994: 288). However, these are more of small-fishing ventures rather than commercial
fishing. The wives who are not pregnant or have grown-up children have the greater opportunity to go out with their husbands in fishing particularly when the distance of the fishing ground is near the shoreline.
However, if only their husbands will be followed, they will not allow their wives to be with them because
they consider them as unnecessary burdens (Tanchuling 1993: 11). The wives who successfully go out to
sea to fish described how they keep the men alert and to minimize drinking in order to concentrate more 6 in fishing. They also help catch fish by using multiple hook and line or by casting the net (Abregana
1999b: 12). There are also women in the community who participated in seining and reef fishing with the
use of scoop nets and fish traps (Sobritchea 1994: 289). Aside from fishing out in the sea, there are also fishing activities that women are into which are done along the coast and in shallow waters with their children (Tanchuling 1993: 11). Common to this is
gleaning which allows women to collect edible sea weeds, mollusks, eels, sea urchins and other marine
organisms. This is usually done during low tide, either in the early morning or late afternoon. Another
opportunity which women earn is in the collection of fish and prawn fries which they sell to fishpond
operators or to fry traders. However, this activity is seasonal and very much dependent on the spawning
period of fish and prawn (Sobritchea 1994: 289). When asked what other contribution they have to the fishing activities of their husbands, the wives reported that they prepare the provisions for their fishing trips like the food, water, gas, extra
clothing, rhum and cigarettes. They also assisted in the purchase and preparation of the baits and hooks.
In Apo Island, I observed that some wives also helped carry the small banca (non-motorized outrigger) to
and from the water when their husbands left for or arrived from fishing. It is also the task of the wives to
decide what to do with the catch of their husbands. They decide which fish to sell fresh or for sun-drying,
whom to sell, what to keep and cook for meals or whom shall be given fish especially when catch is
abundant. They also either sell their husbands’ catch to the buyers or peddle them around the community.
The women fish buyers in the island, then, sell the fish to the mainland almost everyday when there is
enough supply to bring (Oracion 1998a: 40). Fish drying and trading may be considered as the major post-harvest fishing activities that women are engaged with that require them to travel and spend sometime away from home to deliver the fresh and
dried fish to their regular customers (suki). My study in Apo Island demonstrates that despite its peculiar
geographical location, these women fish traders who have an average age of 40 years old could not be
discouraged by rough seas or strong wind to continue with their business in order to earn (Oracion 1998a:
43). These conditions of the sea have been part of their lives as they struggle to survive in the island for
many years now. Together with fish trading, they also assume the major responsibility of purchasing household needs in the mainland because they are more familiar with them. They also buy the fishing equipment of
their husbands like hook, nylon and net based on the list provided to them particularly on where to buy
them. The assumption of these additional tasks is a way of taking advantage and maximizing the
opportunity when they are fish trading in the mainland. In some occasions, husbands also go with their wives trading particularly during the weekly market day (tabu) in a coastal community of the mainland directly facing Apo Island. Although the
husbands also assist their wives in tending their displayed dried fish and mats, most of them spend more
time to relax with some acquaintances. This shows that trading is always a task delegated more to the
wives even in other fishing communities in the Philippines. Bonding, Networking and Sharing Among Women The multiple burdens of wives require them to find support from each other in times of needs. It was observed that linkages with natal and affinal families are nurtured principally by the female members
of households for mutual-support networks. Women in a fishing and farming community in northern
Philippines, for example, share food, work and resources like fishing and farming tools. It was
particularly common for mothers and mothers-in-law to assist young women during the first year of their 7 marriage particularly during the latter’s child deliveries that temporarily limit their spatial mobility to
engage in productive works like fish processing, trading and marketing of household needs (Illo and Polo
1990: 86). During this time in the life of a poor married woman who cannot afford to hire a househelp, the presence of a mother or mother-in-law in the care of older grandchildren, the preparation of meals and
washing of laundry while the woman recovers from giving birth is most welcome. Sometimes, teenage
sisters are also assigned by their mothers to stay with the sister’s household to relieve her from some
strenuous household chores because she had just given birth. It was also noticed that during childbirth and when a mother has an infant to tend to or even when she is sick, that other women in the neighborhood volunteer to market her spouse’s fish catch or dried fish
along with their own. They are also requested to buy what household items are needed by the wife. This is
particularly true in Apo Island where marketing is done in the mainland. In some occasions, the women
are also observed to share special dishes, vegetables and fresh fish and to lending of rice to whoever runs
out of supply at meal preparation. I particularly observed also that the women borrow from each other salt that they use in sundrying fish when all stores in the island run out of supply. They repay the borrowed salt as soon as they are able
to buy from the mainland market. The women also in another report help each other to the extent of
forming a turnohan or a system of group saving in order to pool their financial resources aside from their
direct sharing of food items (Illo and Polo 1990: 87). A leader collects the amount from individual
members and give it to a member who is scheduled to receive this collection. The same pattern is done
every month until every member is able to collect a large sum of money during her assigned period. The
process is repeated which basically operates within the ethics of mutual trusts and cooperation. Actually,
the amount received by a member is equivalent to the sum of money she will accumulate if she saves it
herself. In their course of trading in the mainland, the women fish traders in the island I interviewed reported that they had already established suki relationship with particular buyers that allowed a more
efficient exchange of resources that they considered to be mutually beneficial. Fish buyers in the
mainland are assured of stable supply of fish of good quality while the traders from the island are able to
command fair price of their fish (Oracion 1998a: 46). The island fish traders also mentioned that they are able to maintain open credit lines with storeowners and fish buyers whom they have established a suki relationship. The wives maintained that
they take advantage of the open credit lines when they run out of cash for important household items
while still in the mainland. For their part, storeowners, allow the island fish traders’ to buy on credit
because they trust their capacity to pay when they bring in the fish to sell the next time they meet. Furthermore, the island women had also engaged in direct exchange or barter of products with the mainland farming households. They bring dried fish to the upland areas of the mainland when they have
enough supply and exchange this with the corn on cobs of farmers whom they had established prior
relationship during other harvest seasons (Oracion 1998a: 45). Evidently, the wives had used these various social networks within and outside the family as mechanisms of accessing to resources they lack which are vital to the survival of their respective families
especially during periods of urgency and needs. Through these social networks and resource exchange
relationships, they are able to build social capital between each other which they could activate to gain
access to resources not available within their respective domains (Shields, Flora, Thomas-Slayter,
Buenavista 1996: 155). It shows that the women among themselves have the earnest desire to assist each
other during critical moments. 8 To some extent, the ability also of women to accumulate resources to support the family when their husbands failed to satisfactorily provide this has more or less, empowered them to exert more
influence on domestic affairs beyond their traditional domains. The visibility of what empowered women
earned compared to wives who are totally dependent on their husbands’ income, give the former group of
women more control of their physical mobility and the satisfaction of their personal needs (e.g. Illo and
Polo 1990: 104). The latter group of women have still to demonstrate to their husbands that they too could
support themselves and their children without depending so much on them. It is a common observation
that insensitive husbands, who generally support their families, tend to subordinate their wives more
whom they regard as weaklings and helpless if abandoned. Affinity of Women and the Environment The foregoing discussion shows that the provision of the material needs of the household should no longer be stereotyped as the domain of husbands particularly with the growing scarcity of food
resources because of environmental degeneration. In fact, the foregoing discussion provides pieces of
evidence that some women in coastal communities have actively participated in ensuring household
survival. They are getting empowered and confident having earned their personal income to deal with
insensitive and vicious husbands who are careless of the quality of life of their respective families (Illo
and Polo 1990: 106). The wives are more interested than the husbands over family welfare because of
their attachment to their children and the home by virtue of their traditional tasks. And their higher
perceptibility on resource scarcity than the men is attributed to the multiple roles or tasks they actually
handle, both at home and in the local fishing economy (Lachica 1993: 25). They see more the difficult life
that lies ahead of them if they will not do anything concrete about it now. The women are more exposed to see the realities that marine resources, fuel wood or water are fast depleting in the community relative to the various roles they manage. First, they are mothers who are
responsible in the planning, budgeting of their meager income and preparing of family meals and other
needs. Second, they are fish traders whose income depends on fish catch. Lastly, they are also fishers who
desire to catch more to feed the family and save some amount for other household needs like clothing,
health, education and others. The women or wives in particular are located in a position that they
experienced both how the resources in the community deteriorate and how they manage scarce resources
available in the household. In contrast, some husbands generally felt only the diminishing fish catch and are not bothered much by the burdens of household management which they leave to their wives as a cultural practice.
They are unable to fully appreciate the beauty and bounty of nature as women do. This is more clearly
described by a feminist researcher when she writes that: Women compared the environment to a child who needs special care and attention in
order to grow healthy and strong. Men, on the other hand, looked at the environment
as a provider and as such deserves care and attention because of the benefits which can
be had from nature. Women generally thought that the state of the environment requires
immediate attention; men usually viewed the problem of the environment as still within
the tolerable limits. Women readily accepted the care of environment as every individual’s
responsibility; men generally expected that other people and groups work together and
do their share in taking care of the environment (Abregana 1997b: 117). The above comparison suggests that because of their differences in environmental perception, the wives in particular become more sensitive and concern over family’s welfare compared to their husbands
because they directly felt the impact of resource scarcity to the survival of their respective families 9 (Tañada 1993: 193). When they go out fishing with men, the wives always remind their husbands or even
nag that they need to have a good catch to have cash for basic needs and to pay off debts which the wives
also transacted (Abregana 1999: 14). Incidentally, the husbands may use this to justify why they over
exploit the already diminishing fish supply which is not necessarily a good reason. It was observed that
while waiting for a school of fish, men usually kill time by drinking liquor and smoking which the women
try to cut. Indeed, too much drinking or even gambling of husbands are vices perceived by wives as
draining their meager resources (Illo and Polo 1990: 102). The wives in some coastal communities in the Philippines described exemplify the kind of women who defy cultural boundaries by performing the dual tasks of reproduction and production in their
attempts to economically secure their respective families from hunger. They also involved themselves in
community affairs particularly when their husbands are usually out in the sea fishing. And this is maybe a
blessing in disguise because their sensitive understanding of nature and having more time, allow them to
work with environmental programs in the community. They are easier to call and mobilize (Tanchuling
1993: 13). Role of Women for Sustainable Coastal Resources Management The participation of organized communities is a recognized and viable strategy in responding to the dwindling fishery resources. The success stories of these communities rely in the empowerment of
people or stakeholders as day-to-day managers of resources available in their immediate environment.
Such is the core of the community approach in coastal resource management that develops among local
people the attitude that the protection and use of their resources are their responsibility. They develop a
sense of being proprietors and claimants of the resources around them that make these people proud of
whatever good things they had done to the environment. This description find meaning in the experiences
of the residents of Apo Island after almost two decades that they strictly protect the marine reserve and
fish sanctuary they claimed to be the product of their combined labor. In 1982 Silliman University came to Apo Island to introduce a marine conservation and development program in order to put an end to all the destructive fishing practices of the residents which
included the use of blast and poison which not only killed all sorts of fish but also the corals. The positive
response of the residents to the program paid and in fact they received a national recognition and cash
award in 1997 for having the best marine reserve managed by the community people themselves.
Together with this recognition is the influx of domestic and foreign tourists to the island that have also
contributed to the revenue of the local tourism industry and the island government from tourist fees
collected. However, this has some negative impacts to the fragile marine ecosystem of the island in terms
of the destruction of coral reefs by reckless tourist divers, particularly the amateurs, and pollution because
of the plastic wrappers of food and empty bottles of mineral water they bring to the island. In order to
prevent more serious problem to come, the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB), an inter-agency
group which became operational in 1996 and has a legal-regulatory role in the island, promulgated some
guidelines to be followed by tourists and even the residents to maintain the ecological balance of Apo
Island. In a focus group discussion participated by some women, it was learned that they were part of the 16 core households which originally responded to the organizing efforts done by the community workers
of Silliman University while many were suspicious to its real intention because of its label as a leftist
institution. Together with their husbands, they helped in hauling rocks and sand used in building a
structure which is known today as a community center by the island residents. They also solicited and
cooked food to feed those who helped in the construction work. The structure they built overlooks the
area designated as the fish sanctuary which the women also took turns to guard against intruders while
their husbands were out fishing. According to the women, there were island residents who were not sold 10 to the idea of establishing the marine reserve and fish sanctuary and they still fished in the protected area.
The barangay captain of Apo Island particularly said that it took almost five years for Siliman University
to convince the residents the need to take good care of the coral reefs (Lujan 1998: 11). And the efforts
the women contributed did not go to waste and they never regretted on what they had done considering
the good results brought about by the marine reserve and fish sanctuary now. The women further said that the sanctuary allows the fish to breed and mature until the adults move out to the non-reserve areas where they are caught by island fishers. A barangay council member of
the island who is also a fisherman remarked that they no longer have to travel far out into the dangerous
sea because the establishment of a marine reserve and a sanctuary give them bountiful catch without the
use of sophisticated fishing gear (Lujan 1998: 12). Indeed, the women must have played important roles in sustaining the excellent state of Apo Island marine ecosystem as wives who continuously remind husbands to deter themselves from illegal
fishing and as an organization which concertedly voices their agenda for quality life. Their pro-nature
attitude and involvement in community organizations like the Apo Progressive Community Development
Association (APCODA) that looks into ecologically sound development programs of the island, the
Marine Management Committee (MMC) that oversees the good condition of the marine reserve and fish
sanctuary, and the Development through Active Women Networking (DAWN) that particularly sensitizes
and empowers them, give these women the social avenues by which they could present what they believe
are consistent to their interests and conditions. And like any other successful coastal resource
management program, Apo Island will go on telling its success stories as it also continuously recognizes
community participation and the substantial contribution of women and their organizations in its marine
development program. Conclusion The close affinity of women to the environment and their sensitive perceptibility to the growing scarcity of food resources because of the nature of their socialization and reproductive tasks make them
also as important stakeholders in coastal resource management program. They could easily understand the
need to protect, preserve and rehabilitate the coastal and marine environment because they are directly
affected by it. Therefore, in empowering the community to protect their environment, like the success story of Apo Island, the women need not be overlooked to be part in the process and their concerns and ideas
should also be responded. They are more than willing, like their husbands, to assist in coastal resource
management program because they realized that the welfare and the survival of their respective families
are at stake. Take note that while generally the men intensify the use of resources to maximize income to
feed the family, the women feel the need to nurture the environment in order to sustain its use. And the
differences how men and women relate with nature make them more equally important in coastal resource
management. 11 Notes The author is concurrently an Associate Professor of Sociology of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and a Research Associate of the Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) of the College of Arts and
Sciences, Silliman University, Dumaguete City, Philippines. This paper, which is based on the report originally
submitted as a course requirement in “Women and Ecology” class in the Graduate Program on Women’s Studies
which is a consortium of Silliman University and St. Scholastica’s College-Manila, was presented in a lecture at the
School of Marine Affairs (SMA) on May 10, 2001. The lecture was made by the author as a Visiting Scholar at the
School of Marine Affairs, University of Washington, Seattle, WA from March 21 to June 8, 2001. For this opportunity, the author gratefully acknowledged Dr. Marc J. Hershman, Director of SMA and Dr. Patrick J. Christie, coordinator of the exchange program. Appreciation is also extended to Prof. Roy Olsen de Leon
of the Center of Excellence for Coastal Resources Management (COE-CRM) project of Silliman University for
facilitating the participation of the author in the UW-SU Exchange Program. However, the opinion expressed in this
paper is the sole responsibility of the author and not necessarily those of the persons and institutions mentioned
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