San Juan, Batangas — The Municipality celebrated the first-ever Araw ng Pagkakaisa para sa Kalikasan ng Bayan ng San Juan. Municipal Ordinance No. 002, Series of 2024, declares that every October 22 will commemorate when nine out of ten San Juan residents voted to protect their town from the construction of a pollutive copper smelter and fertilizer complex in a diocesan poll in the seventies. Barako Publishing successfully lobbied for the ordinance in 2023 as it produced and published the legacy book titled Barako 77: The Story of Environmental Activism in San Juan, Batangas in 2024.
Scouts reforest the mangrove area of Barangay Imelda in San Juan, Batangas. Photo Credit: Barako Publishing
About The Pioneer Event
In partnership with the Department of Education, the Boy Scouts of the Philippines, and the Municipal Environment and National Resources Office, Barako Publishing hosted over 400 scouts and scouters from the San Juan East and West district public schools in Protektadong Kalikasan, Protektadong Kinabukasan, a day camporee at Barangay Imelda, the location where a bugang lason (toxic copper smelter) was set to be constructed. The communications campaign by the brave Concerned Citizens of San Juan was led by Horacio V. Marasigan, the grandfather of Barako Publishing Publisher Ciara Marasigan Serumgard and the grandfather-in-law of Barako Publishing Executive Director Farrah Rodriguez. Present-day sightings of whale sharks and manta rays in Barangay Imelda bring the story full circle.
A lecture, discussion, hike, mangrove tree planting, and coastal clean-up took place. Speakers included Executive Barako Publishing Director Farrah Rodriguez, World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines Educator Dino Calderon, Department of Education San Juan West District Supervisor Sarah Saguin, Department of Education San Juan East District Supervisor Ellienor Peña, Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Officer Noelito Pasco, and BSP Coordinator Secondary San Juan East District Elmer Samarita. Founders of Task Force Magtatanim Lando Marasigan and Mark Carranza emphasized the importance of reforestation, while Batangas Scuba Academy instructor Marivic Maramot advocated for marine conservation, as San Juan is in the Verde Island Passage, the center of marine biodiversity. Scouters Rose Luistro, Ma. Theresa Macalalad, and Jay Cudiamat were the Masters of Ceremony. Cafeño.MNL Café provided adobo flakes rice meals wrapped in banana leaves. Vincent Niño Fabella and the BSP Rover Circle XXIII energized the youth with scout spirit amid Typhoon Kristine.
WWF-PH Educator Dino Calderon teach the San Juaneño scouts about biodiversity and sustainability. Photo Credit: Barako Publishing
The objectives of this first commemoration were to educate the youth about San Juan’s rich biodiversity and natural resources, teach the history of San Juan with an emphasis on its environmental activism legacy, empower youth through the Barako values of pagiging mausisa (curiosity), masusi sa pagsusuri (critical thinking), malasakit sa kapwa (care for others), and lakas ng loob (courage), create a new generation of eco-champions for San Juan, Batangas, and encourage the scouting culture and spirit in the town.
“Just like the CCSJ, Barako Publishing is a grassroots movement too. We are honored to deliver San Juan’s history book, a celebration of empowerment rooted in policy, and a strong community of supporters, the #BarakoAlliance. My family is deeply grateful for the gift of scouting, and through this commemoration, I want to build the esteem and protect the future of our San Juaneño youth through a love for the outdoors, values education, and practical life skills—the scouting adventure,” BSA Scouter and Publisher Ciara Marasigan Serumgard stated. Executive Director Farrah Rodriguez proposed the idea of a BSP adventure specifically for environmental conservation work for San Juan in the future, with a native tree of the town to be featured in the patch earned.
BSP SJ DepEd Scouter Herbert Cruz shared, “Thank you so much for the great experience that you shared with us and our scouts. Hindi po mailalarawan ang kanilang kasiyahan sa pambihirang karanasan.”
Sr. Maria Aida Magtibay Velasquez, O.S.B., who conducted the diocesan poll on October 22, 1977, congratulated the Barako team: “There are very few original places left now in Batangas. Take care of them very well so that the other young ones can also see San Juan. Congratulations to all of you who made the book. You still have a San Juan, Batangas to keep for your children and your grandchildren.”
Scouter Vincent Fabella, Barako Publishing’s Farrah Rodriguez, and Scouter Jay Cudiamat Photo Credit: Barako Publishing
National scientist and Chief Mangrove Scientific Advisor of the Zoological Society of London, Dr. Jurgenne Primavera, commended the organizers of Araw ng Pagkakaisa para sa Kalikasan ng Bayan ng San Juan for commemorating the incredible struggles of the people of San Juan: “To respect all life and preserve it in all its fullness—including the air we breathe, the water we drink, the plants and animals, and the trees and forests, rivers, and seas—we must be like Boy Scouts who try their utmost to live the Scout Oath and follow the Scout Laws.”
The Legacy: The Book
Barako 77: The Story of Environmental Activism in San Juan, Batangas documents a controversial but nearly forgotten chapter in the town’s environmental history. It is a scholarly reference accessible to a wide audience. In the seventies, San Juan, Batangas, was set to become the site of Southeast Asia’s first copper smelter until a grassroots movement emerged to preserve the town’s health and natural resources. The book was written by historians Katherine G. Lacson, Maria Karina Garilao, Vincent Bernabe, and San Juaneños Felipe Horacio F. Marasigan III, Farrah Jem L. Rodriguez, and Ciara Marasigan Serumgard, with essay contributions from Bro. Armin Luistro, FSC, Sr. Mary John Mananzan, O.S.B., and Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan. Photographers Juan Miguel Marasigan, Mark Anthony Carranza, Penn De Los Santos, Marivic Verdadero Maramot, and Neon Rosell II contributed images, while the late Batangueño cartoonist Bladimer Usi+ and Rory Morales-Gutierrez provided illustrations. The book’s visual theme was conceptualized by BG Hernandez, Creative Director of Studio 5 Designs.
The book is now available on Barako Publishing’s website: www.barako.org, as well as Fully Booked (Powerplant Mall, Greenbelt, BGC, The Podium, Eastwood Mall, and Greenhills), Ayala Museum, Yuchengco Museum, Solidaridad Bookshop, and Cafeño.MNL Café.
The Legacy: The Barako Alliance
Barako Publishing’s community of partners has grown to include the public education sector and the scouting movement.
Barako Publishing draws inspiration from its founder’s legacy: “Once you get the teachers on your side, the chances are you will get the students on your side. Then get outside attention and support,” Horacio V. Marasigan was quoted by Michael T. Malloy in an article for the Asian Wall Street Journal on November 3, 1977.
In the Philippines, the scouting movement is supported by academic institutions, unlike in the U.S., where it is family-run. Barako Publishing Publisher Ciara Marasigan Serumgard, a BSA scouter from Troop 95 and Pack 75 of the Sequoia Council, runs the program for the youngest scouts and serves as a registered merit badge counselor.
This October, BSP celebrates its 88th charter anniversary.
Barako Publishing continues its collaboration with WWF-PH to develop an educational module teaching Barako 77 to educators and students.
Special thanks to our donors La Luz Dive Camp, Casa Amara, and the White House San Juan for their generosity.
For more information, please check out:
Barako Publishing
www.barako.org
facebook.com/barakopublishing
