Love & Care for TALOMO BEACH

BY: NINO A. CALAMBA, RN


I can still fondly recall the childhood days I have spent in the historical Talomo Beach here in Davao City. After my grandfather, the late Benito Cabahug Aparis, together with my very gracious grandmother, the late Teodora Lejeon Chinel, brought the entire family and then later on the entire clan, here in the City of Davao from Luzon and the Visayas, I luckily became a proud Davao-born and a Talomo-Beach-bum.

As I child, I was able to etched wonderful memories in my existence vis-a-vis Talomo Beach. My friends and I always escaped from our houses and meet on the beach in the late morning to play, swim, and enjoy the sun, sand and sea the whole day through. It never fails to amuse me remembering my beloved mother fetching me from the beach with a bamboo stick during lunchtime, in which the bamboo stick would obviously be used to punish me for escaping and swimming in the sea without adult’s supervision. But that whole experience was priceless savoring the clean and clear sea and the glowing gray and black sand of Talomo Beach, while looking at the endless horizon Davao Gulf has to offer. I grew up living and loving Talomo Beach, which I could never imagine myself not looking back to those memories throughout the rest of my life.

As many years passed, Talomo Beach has become polluted because of the abuse and exploitation done by the people living in it. As the population rises, shanties and more households started sprouting like mushrooms along the beach. These realities have led to the irresponsible waste disposal of people to the sea. Plastic garbages, fecal materials, and even dead pets can be seen floating in the once pure and serene Talomo Beach. If you would try swimming, you could already feel muddy sand, which was probably caused by the discouraging formation of dirt and wastes into muds covering the original gray and black sand of Talomo Beach.

I believe it is not bad to live near the sea and find solace on the beach. But what is important is that people who are living in the coastal area, especially in Talomo Beach, must realize that they need to provide tender loving care to the sea, the sand, and to Mother Nature in general. Responsible waste management must be practiced by the villagers who opt to build their houses near the sea. For according to the Holy Bible, we must become good stewards of the awesome graces and blessings of God bestowed upon us. The sand and the sea is a great blessing, so is Talomo Beach. The Holy Bible also reiterates that “to whom much has been given, much shall be required”, which would translate to the fact that being able to find life in the beach and have a daily communion with the sea is a great gift from above, and therefore a greater challenge of being responsible in giving back love and care to the beach, the sea and the river is highly expected from those living near it.

It is inspiring, though, that a group of individuals have already started the continuing clean-up drive to save Talomo Beach, which includes the river in Ulas flowing directly to the beach. Specifically, the group of Engr. Bendor A. Calamba (former Barangay Kagawad in Barangay Talomo) has made the brave move of conducting regular clean-up drive sessions in Talomo Beach and its river. Being a District Coordinator of the Office of Congressman Karlo Nograles, Engr. Calamba is ably joined by the congressional scholars of Talomo in the implementation of the noble environmental project. Likewise, the local barangay council has also spearheaded such kind of noteworthy activity to save one of Davao’s precious gems. Hand in hand and together in unity for one common cause, the people in Talomo will surely be of great help in restoring the beauty and sanctity of the Talomo Beach.

During their latest clean-up drive session, the group of Engr. Bendor Calamba was able to successfully free quite a lenthy stretch of the Talomo Beach from plastic garbages proliferating on the seashore. The group of Engr. Calamba also conducted house-to-house information drive encouraging local villagers to become responsible of their own wastes. The villagers were also informed to be updated of the regular CENRO garbage truck collection so that they can surrender their garbages to the “garbage truck collector” rather than throwing them into the sea and into the river.

Moreover, the group of Engr. Bendor Calamba, was able to plant trees on the river banks of the Talomo river visible in the Ulas bridge, in which its water rushes through the sea of the Talomo Beach. They were also successful in cleaning the river banks from plastic garbages and other waste materials deemed harmful to the river and to mother nature as a whole.

These simple and yet remarkable endeavors of saving and restoring Talomo Beach and its river by the passionate and energetic group of Engr. Bendor Calamba serves to be both a wake-up call and an inspiration to the locals of Talomo Beach and the entire Davao populace, that we need to nurture our very own gifts of nature. The many stories that Talomo Beach has to tell the coming generations can only be well appreciated if it maintains its innate and natural beauty, which can surely be achieved through our gentle love and care. It can be said further that with humble efforts coupled with pure intentions, a bigger and a much wonderful outcome will carve its way to reaching a praiseworthy objective.

We share photographs taken by Joffer Aparis.

(Published on Mindanao Times newspaper, frontpage, May 7, 2011, Saturday issue ... However, with unintentional error on the byline)