Corcuera, named after Governor General Hurtado de Corcuera, offers many wonders still hidden from public knowledge and gaze. Aside from its white sand beaches and blue-green waters, the surrounding sea offers bountiful fish harvests of varied colors..

The place, considered to be an inactive volcano, has a continuous supply of hot water for its residents.

Farming and fishing are the main livelihood of the people. Although they also earn from other means like animal raising, handicraft production (native mats, bags, wall decors) and temporary employment at the local government, they just would not give up fishing..

Fishery products are a plenty. Lapo-lapo (wavy-lined grouper), tangigi (spanish mackerel), barakuda (barracuda), galunggong (big bodied round scad), dalagang bukid (red caesio) are among the fish harvests. These are brought to Batangas bagsakan center by the fish vendors. .

According to the municipal fishery records, there are 15 metric tons of fish catch by Corcuera fisherfolk in 2009. This increased to 23 metric tons in 2010..

Corcuera fisherfolk have three things in common: They are hardworking; they have many children; they are beneficiaries of the mobile ice maker from the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech)..

From 4 o’clock in the afternoon to 10 o’clock in the evening, Corcuera fishermen would launch their little ships (banca with or without pump) on the sea. Some use lambat or net, others use only their fishing rods..

Fish catch vary. Average catch ranges from 2 to 50 kilograms of different fishes among the small fisherman..

Corcuera fishermen also have plenty of children. The municipal agricultural officer of Corcuera, Mr. Erwin S. Fabella, jokingly said that their fish catch has something to do with their being prolific baby maker. Based on his interviews with the fisherfolk, almost all have plenty of children.

Richie Falcolan, 32 years old, has been fishing for more than 20 years. Even with his new employment as grave digger (supulturero) at the Corcuera Cemetery, he makes it a point to fish on Saturdays, Sundays and some weekday nights. He harvests two to 10 kilograms every fishing trip depending on the bounty of the sea..

Richie is one of the patrons of ice produced by the ice maker. At night when he goes fishing, he buys beforehand five kilograms of ice from the municipal government of Corcuera. He uses the ice to preserve his fish catch. Richie harvests 10 kilograms of fish and earns P700, enough to buy rice and milk for his children..

Mr. Gerry Padulo, 61 years old, is a fisherman for 30 years now. If the catch is good, he buys 50 kilograms of ice from the municipal government of Corcuera and places them in styrofore. He brings his fish harvest of tamban (Indian sardine), dalagang bukid (round yellow tail fusilier), lawin-lawin (flying fish), espada (swordfish) to the Corcuera bagsakan center..

“Kung maraming isda, maraming yelo, maraming kita,” (If there are many fishes, there are plenty of ice, and there will be more income) said Mr. Padulo, the vice president of the Barangay Fishery and Aquatic Resources Management Council (BFARMC)..

In 2007, the Corcuera municipal government received the mobile ice maker from PHilMech. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Bernie G. Fondevilla, a Romblonanon, graced the turn-over to the municipal government. Since then and until now, the ice maker is functioning and operational..

The ice maker is part of the PHilMech project, “Provision of Mobile Ice Maker to Municipal Fishery Cooperatives and Fisherfolk Organizations.” The ice maker is aimed at prolonging the shelf life and maintain the quality of fish while in transport to distant places. PHilMech and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) collaborated in the implementation of the project.
Trained to operate the Corcuera ice maker is an electrical engineering graduate from the Romblon State University, Rene Cris Faner, 27 years old..

Rene talks fondly of the ice maker. He operates at 4:30 am to 6:00 am and 5:00 pm to 11:00 pm. These are the times when Corcuera has its supply of electricity. Among Romblon municipalities, only four municipalities have a 24-hour supply of electricity. Corcuera is not one of these fortunate municipalities because of the lack of electric consumers. .

Rene narrated that the ice maker produces 15 kilograms of ice per 15 minutes of operation. They operate daily, six hours continuous in the afternoon and one and a half hour early in the morning..

Peak of ice maker use is on the months of March, April and May when there are plenty of fish harvests..

Asked on what his maintenance procedures for the ice maker, Rene quickly replied: “Always check the ice maker parts like tube, filter, ice container. Remove the water on tank after every use. Check the pulley line for any hole. Clean the ice maker every after operation.”.

He further emphasized: “Ang itinatagal ng ice maker ay nasa pag-aalaga ng operator,” (The durability of the ice maker depends on the care and maintenance of the operator)..

Since the Corcuera ice maker started operation, Rene has been the operator. He treated it with tender loving care, mindful that it is his main source of livelihood..

Corcuera has 15 barangays, 11 of which are coastal barangays. As of 2010, there are 356 registered Barangay Fishery and Aquatic Resources Management Council. MAO Fabella said that from these BFARMCs, about 110 fishermen use the ice maker given by DA-PHilMech to the Corcuera municipal government..

Prior to the introduction of the mobile ice maker in the area, a block of ice in Corcuera costs P600. This is too expensive for the small fisherfolk. Thanks to the introduction of the mobile ice maker, fishermen could buy small amount of ice at P10 /kilogram to preserve the quality of fish harvests..

Because of the high demand of ice from the icemaker, MAO Fabella said that they would set a maximum of 10 kilograms of ice per small fishermen. This would enable more small fishermen to avail of the ice from the Corcuera ice maker. Other customers of the Corcuera ice maker include employees of the municipal government and the nearby owners of stores and restaurants..

MAO Fabella admits that one ice maker is not enough for their domestic use. They plan to request for another ice maker from PHilMech..

Clean, cheap and convenient to use, ice from the Corcuera ice maker has many patrons. Corcuera ice sells like hotcake. There is not just enough ice for everybody.