Rey Manalo is an active and vocal advocate of the Bantay Dagat (Sea Patrol) program in Mabini, Batangas. Quite a departure from his younger days when Manalo was a menace to the marine ecosystem of Batangas, being a muro-ami diver. Now in his 50s, Manalo recalled that, as a muro-ami diver, he would put on a compressor or other breathing devices so he could stay longer underwater. Once underwater, he’d smash the coral reefs using a heavy pounding device tied to a chain or rope, called seroca or sirusga. The seroca would drive the fish out of their hiding place and into a waiting net encircling the coral reef. Muro-ami work meant Manalo did not have to wait or look for fish hiding in the coral reefs.

FirstGen bankrolls Batangas marine ecosystem project. (2015, August 17). Philippine Daily Inquirer, pp. B3-3, B3-4.