FOR 75-year-old Bernardo Judaya and his wife Rosita, 72, life in Sitio Bagacay, Barangay Tayud, Consolacion ties to the sea. Bernardo, a fisherman, remembers a time when fish were abundant a few meters from the shore.
“Sa una, duol ra mi mangisda, daghan na dayon mi makuha,” he said.
Over the years, shipyards and shipping businesses expanded along the coastline. The catch declined. The expansion destroyed mangroves that protected the shore and served as breeding grounds for fish.
The couple faces another change. Near their community, the government builds a 25-hectare reclamation project for the New Cebu International Container Port in Tayud. The P16.93-billion port project broke ground on Feb. 5, 2025. Authorities expect the port to decongest cargo operations at the Cebu Base Port in Cebu City upon completion in 2028.
For Bernardo, the progress brings mixed emotions. He welcomes the economic growth and the taxes businesses will contribute to the government. He mourns the loss of the sea that sustained his family.
With fewer fish near the shore, village fishermen must travel farther into the sea. Some found a new way to earn. Fishermen use their small boats to ferry workers from nearby shipyards and businesses across the water. The boat ride offers a quicker route to avoid traffic for P50 per passenger.
The sea that fed them serves a different purpose. It carries people instead of fish. For Bernardo and Rosita, the sea remains the center of their story. The tides of livelihood and change shape their lives.