EVERY year, something magical happens on one of the beaches on the southern coast of Catanduanes.
With the sun yet to rise on a recent Thursday, people from all walks of life went out of their way to gather at Tampad beach in Talisoy just to witness nature in action: the hatch and release of hundreds of baby sea turtles.
Among the people in attendance stood a small but proud lady. Armed with a small flashlight, she made sure that the sea turtles started their journey into the sea safely.
Zenaida Baylosis, lovingly known to her friends and colleagues as ‘Tiya Naiding’, has been one of the main stewards of sea turtle conservation in Catanduanes.
Starting more than a decade ago in 2014, she has since grown her love for marine turtles into a four-person operation now recognized by the local government as the Pawikan Guardians, which according to Agricultural Technologist Abraham Tablizo has released 2,313 sea turtle hatchlings from 2023-2025.
Their operation covers up to seven beachfronts in both the Talisoy and Magnesia del Sur areas, which two sea turtle species call home.
The first is the green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas, while the other is the Hawksbill, Eretmochelys imbricata, which are endangered and critically endangered, respectively.
Both sea turtle species can lay up to 100 eggs in one clutch and can make up to three to six clutches of eggs during the regular nesting season of February to October.
“Nag-start talaga ‘to [nung] 2014, pero hindi pa siya acknowledged ng munisipyo. Kumbaga, ako lang, mano-mano ko lang siya,” Baylosis told the Catanduanes Tribune.
Special sands
Tiya Naiding, 54, originally grew fond of marine life as far back as her childhood in Negros Occidental. She and her siblings would often hang out around their father’s fishing boat to help with repairs. One night, a sea turtle surfaced near them to lay eggs.
“Natakot kami, siyempre, mga maliliit pa kami eh. Ang sabi lang ng papa namin, ‘hayaan niyo lang, kung nandiyan na kayo sa loob ng bangka at nandiyan siya sa ilalim, wag na kayong gumalaw,’” she said.
When she asked her father about it, he said that it was often believed that a beach was considered lucky to have a sea turtle lay eggs on it.
When her now-husband brought her to vacation in Catanduanes, Tiya Naiding said that she felt the same ‘special-ness’ with the coastlines of the province.
Her husband proved her hunch when they found an empty sea turtle nesting tunnel in Tarisoy beach, but her fascination was short-lived when only three days after that encounter, she found her neighbors hauling buckets of sea turtle eggs back to their homes.
“Yung asawa ko, umuwi na may dala din. Sabi ko, ‘ibalik niyo ‘yan!’ Kaso hindi na maibabalik kasi natanggal na sa balat niya,” she added.
Soon after, she became the subject of ridicule of her neighbors who, she recounted, even used a microphone to berate her on how she wasn’t welcome in the province.
“’Nung dumating ka, meron na ‘yan dito!” O, meron na pala dito, bakit hindi niyo alagaan? Bakit pinapabayaan niyo? ‘Sus, pinapabayaan lang ‘yan diyan!’ Yan ang mali sa inyo,” she said.
“Ngayon, nung inaalagaan ko na, [hinahabol ako] hanggang sa munisipyo. Pinapatanggal ako [ng trabaho] kasi hindi raw ako taga-rito.”
When she went to complain to the local Department of Environment and Natural Resources, she was only told to give them a call whenever she needed to, and not to intervene with the sea turtles or the eggs.
“Hindi po. Dapat, turuan niyo ako. Paiba-iba rin kasi ang [ugali] ng pawikan. taon-taon, hanggang ngunyan, inaadalan pa rin ‘yan,” she added.
It was only during the term of former Virac mayor Samuel Laynes that she was given equipment like flashlights, tarps, and nets.
Furthermore, the program was able to acquire an almost Php 100,000 grant from the Youth for Biodiversity program with the help of Provincial Board Member Fred Gianan, some of which they have started spending on more aluminum steel cages for the egg clutches and flashlights.
Ever since then, Tiya Naiding hasn’t stopped showing up for when the sea turtles come back to nest, even after the recent change in the local government administration left her without a job, much to the criticism of even her own husband.
“Minsan pinag-aawayan namin ng asawa ko eh. Sasabihin niya, ‘bakit, may sahod ka ba diyan?’ Hindi katwiran ang may sahod ka. Sa inyo kasi, balewala ang kalikasan. Ang ganda ng lugar ninyo tapos pababayaan niyo?,” she said.
As the hundreds upon hundreds of baby sea turtles began their journey into the sea, this leap is only the first in the multitude of threats they will face in the open ocean, only this time without the vigilance of the Pawikan Guardians.
As they disappeared into the water, Tiya Naiding smiled, knowing that to witness nature in action makes all the difference, and that for as long as she lives and breathes, her beloved sea turtles will always find a home in Talisoy.