Maria lives a peaceful life on Ubay Island with her family. In spite of tidal flooding, she does not want to leave her home in exchange for an uncertain life on the mainland. Maria cherishes the abundance of the sea, which provides for her family’s daily needs.
In response to tidal flooding, the Municipal Government of Tubigon launched a relocation program that would provide permanent houses for the island communities on the mainland. However, many island residents are reluctant to relocate because of livelihood concerns. Rather than permanently relocating, they negotiated with the government to maintain their houses on the islands for their fishing activities, while agreeing to diligently evacuate to the mainland whenever a potential natural hazard manifests itself. Due to this compromise, the residents instead began to view the relocation program as a temporary evacuation scheme. In any case, the program is severely delayed due to lack of financial resources.