Some 180 subsistence fishermen in the island-province of Catanduanes, who lost their boats to storm surges triggered by Supertyphoon “Uwan” on Nov. 9, 2025, have been thrown a lifeline.
A coalition of civic organizations has gifted them new outrigger boats, restoring their shattered livelihoods and pushing back the constant threat of hunger stalking their precarious existence.
Packing winds of 185 kilometers per hour and gusts of 230 kph, Uwan (internationally known as Fung-wong) grazed Catanduanes and stirred up storm surges of up to 9 meters. The wall of water swept inland, destroying the fishing boats earlier brought to what had been considered safe high ground.
The devastation was massive. Uwan wrought an estimated ₱5.74 billion in damage to Catanduanes’ infrastructure, agriculture and private property. Close to 38,000 houses were damaged or completely ruined.
The “Banca for Life” project of Rotary Club Parañaque East (RCPE) that gained support from RC Makati North, RC Makati San Lorenzo, and District 3830 provided not only livelihood but also work to the marginalized.
Labor and raw materials such as wood were sourced right in the province, amplifying the impact on its economy of the ₱1.5 million that RCPE had raised to procure and distribute the boats.
Sibid sibid
So far, 142 boats—called sibid sibid in Catanduanes’ language or bangkâ in Filipino—have been handed over to parasila (fishermen) in coastal towns.
The distribution started in March. Fresh funds that donors pledged are expected to provide an additional 37 boats.
Sibid sibid is a wooden precolonial boat that still plies the coastal waters. It is an enduring legacy of the Austronesians who millennia ago settled the islands now called the Philippines, other areas in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, and Madagascar.
The boats were allocated to the following towns:
• Caramoran—50 in Barangays Sabangan, Supang, Dariao, Boron, Tubli and Mabini
• Pandan—22 in Barangays Marambong, San Roque, Baldoc and Pandan del Norte
• Viga—20 in several barangays
• San Andres—20 in several barangays
• Baras—15 (scheduled for handover in the second week of June)
• Bato—15 (scheduled for handover in the second week of June)
• Gigmoto—15 (pledges)
• Virac—22 (pledges)
Of Catanduanes’ 11 towns, only the landlocked San Miguel is not getting boats. Bagamanoc and Panganiban are being scheduled to get their sibid sibid.
Long-term impact
The idea to provide boats to small fishermen stemmed from RCPE’s desire to make its assistance impactful.
“As someone from Catanduanes, in what way could I be of help?” RCPE president Cesar V. Sarmiento said. He observed that much of the assistance received by the province in Uwan’s wake had come in the form of rice and other food supplies.
As responses to his call for donations came, Sarmiento wondered: “What would I do with the money I raised? If it was spent on food, it would last for just a day.”
A wooden boat is expected to last five years.
Sarmiento decided against acquiring motorized bancas or those made of fiberglass because of the high cost. “If the boat is expensive, there will be few beneficiaries,” he said.
Besides, a motorized banca that runs on gasoline would be prohibitive to operate amid the skyrocketing fuel prices due to the US-Israel war on Iran.
As a result, a de sagwan (paddle-driven) sibid sibid became the choice.
Each sibid sibid cost Banca for Life ₱10,300—for the lumber and other materials like marine plywood and paint, as well as labor and supervision. Pioneer Epoxy Corp. donated its adhesive product.
Sourcing the logs for the keel, however, posed a challenge. If no logs could be obtained, the funds would be diverted to other projects.
With Gov. Patrick Azanza’s help, the provincial office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) allowed Banca for Life to use local timber. Without the permit, even the trees felled by Uwan could not be used for making boats.
Lawaan and lanipga
The DENR’s green light paved the way for harvesting the tree species lawaan na apnit (lauan; scientific name Shorea contorta) and lanipga (commonly known as kalantas that belongs to the mahogany family; scientific name Toona calantas).
Lanipga contains natural oil that repels termites, marine wood borers and fungal rot. Like lanipga, lawaan is lightweight and buoyant, and is preferred for a boat’s ribs, internal frames and gunwales
Five carpenters fashioned keels and other parts of the boat from lanipga or lawaan logs.
The sibid sibid is compact, with a length of 11 feet and 2 inches and height of 1 foot and 3 inches. The length of the outrigger (katig) is 7 feet and 7 inches.
When asked about the boat’s price if it were bought on the open market, the beneficiaries, speaking in Filipino, cited a range of ₱13,000–₱15,000—amounts beyond their reach.
“Wala kaming pambili dahil mahal (We don’t have the money to buy such an expensive boat),” said Antonio Rojas, 47, a father of two.
Big help
Without Banca for Life, the beneficiaries said, their lives would have sunk further into misery.
“The boat helps us a lot. Even if we don’t have work outside, we can get almost what we need from the sea,” said Rojas, who found employment in a bakery after Uwan smashed his boat.
“It’s a big help,” said Philip Fernandez, 46. “Without it, we will be struggling to survive. How will we meet our basic daily needs?” A fisherman for 20 years, he lost his father to the sea.
Edison Zuniega, 64, with seven children and 15 grandchildren, said that when his boat was destroyed, he sought work in the mountains. “We tried our luck in construction as laborers so that our families would survive,” he said.
Agriculture did not offer relief as the supertyphoon had also ruined rice fields, orchards, even abaca plants. Catanduanes is the Philippines’ largest producer of abaca fiber, and many fishermen turn to abaca stripping when they are not at sea.
Zuniega thanked RCPE for giving him a boat he can call his own. “Nakatulong kahit papano. Kahit mahirap manghuli ng isda nakakatulong din (It has helped us somehow, even if fishing is not easy).”
Macario Martinez, 66, a fisherman and carpenter, and who started fishing with his father when he was 8 years old, said Banca for Life had provided him a much-needed livelihood, for which he was grateful.
A carpenter gets ₱3,500 for each sibid sibid.
Built in Caramoran
It was the beneficiaries themselves, many in their 50s and 60s, who installed the katig, or outriggers made of bamboo poles, that RCPE had also donated.
No katig had been attached to the boats for easy loading onto trucks that transported them to other towns from Caramoran.
The boats were built in Caramoran because of the availability of the raw materials and carpenters. The costs there were also deemed reasonable compared with other areas.
The trucks that transported the sibid sibid were courtesy of Mayors Aly Romano of San Andres, Jennifer Tuplano of Viga, and Olog Tabligan of Pandan.
It was the mayors’ agricultural offices, which keep a list of fishers’ organizations and their members, that identified the beneficiaries.
At the turnover ceremony on April 15 in front of the San Andres town hall, the recipients took an oath not to sell the boats for easy money. They were reminded of the consequences of losing something that would provide them livelihood.
After the oathtaking, Sarmiento met with the beneficiaries to impress upon them that RCPE would be monitoring them and the boats.
The boats donated to each town sport specific colors—mint green for Pandan, blue for Viga, neon orange for Baras, and Nile green for Bato—to facilitate identification.
Joint project
Banca for Life was not part of the one-year plan that RCPE under Sarmiento’s presidency had laid out. But the catastrophic damage wrought by Uwan on Catanduanes served as the catalyst that got the project launched.
It prompted Sarmiento to call for help in a Rotary Club group chat.
There was quick response from RC Makati North and RC Makati San Lorenzo. RC Makati North even contacted its sister clubs—Raffles City Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong—for assistance.
RC Makati North was able to raise ₱600,000 (equivalent to 61 boats) and RC Makati San Lorenzo gave ₱515,000.
RCPE itself raised ₱200,000 while the District Resilience Fund, which had been set up to extend help to Palawan that was earlier hit by a typhoon, provided ₱190,000.
Thus was Banca for Life born—a joint undertaking of RCPE, RC Makati North, RC Makati San Lorenzo, and District 3830, with RCPE as prime mover.
RC Ashan of South Korea, a sister club, promised to donate 10 boats; the Galvez family, five, and RC Makati San Lorenzo, an additional seven boats worth ₱80,000.
A golf tournament to be organized by RCPE is aimed at raising funds for the production of 15 more boats.
The pledges and fund-raising would mean 37 additional boats.
Still, the demand exceeds the supply. Learning about the project on social media, many other fishermen who lost their boats to Uwan have appealed to RCPE for their own sibid sibid.
Between 15,000 and 20,000 fishers are registered in Catanduanes, according to provincial data and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources records.
Half the number are engaged in open-water capture fishing, and the other half work in aquaculture, fish processing, and fish selling. Most live below the poverty line.
Community economic development
Banca for Life is in line with two of Rotary Club International’s seven areas of focus on humanitarian service aimed at maximizing local and global community impact—community economic development and supporting the environment.
Part of community economic development is creating stable opportunities for productive work in underserved areas.
Giving small fishermen boats also hews to supporting the environment through the sustainable use of marine resources.
In view of the need to address the shortage of fishing boats in Catanduanes, continuing Banca for Life makes sense.
The next RCPE president may adopt the project. Or a foundation may be set up to keep it going so it can continue to give hope to and uphold the dignity of subsistence fishermen, Sarmiento said.
Carpenter-fisherman Martinez expressed the hope that Banca for Life would be sustained: “Sana tuloy tuloy po ang programang ito.”
With their new sibid-sibid, the parasila who have benefited from Banca for Life are no longer reduced to waiting on the shore. In their hands are not just paddles but also a means to renew union with the waters. They push off into the Pacific once more, proving that while the ocean can shatter their wood, it cannot break their spirit. CS
The interviews with fishermen and carpenters were conducted by Eddie Rojas.
