Gargantuan challenge DISMANTLE LAGUNA BAY FISHPENS; PRES. DUTERTE ORDERS DENR, DA

By Manny Piñol

In one of the most daring and bold orders he has issued thus far, President Rody Duterte has directed two of his departments – the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Dept. of Agriculture – to bring back the polluted Laguna de Bay to the pristine state it had during the days of national hero Jose Rizal.

The 911-square kilometer lake, the biggest in the country and which was mentioned extensively by Rizal in his writings, is now a virtual maze of fishpens which effectively choke the small fishermen.

“The fishpens are owned by big politicians – governors and mayors – and police and army generals. All that is left for the small fishermen are the spaces in between the fishpens,” President Duterte said in his speech before thousands of students and Mindanao leaders in the Ateneo de Davao University yesterday.

While the order to dismantle the fishpens was directed at the DENR Secretary, the DA and its line agency – the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources – will be actively involved in the effort because of the order’s impact on the fish supply of Metro Manila.

The fishpens of Laguna de Bay are the sources of 36% of the fish requirements of Metro Manila and the dismantling of the fishpens will have an adverse effect on the supply and price of fish.

DA-BFAR must come up with a back up plan to ensure that during the period of the dismantling of the fishpens, sources of fish from other parts of the country – especially Bangus and Tilapia – would be able to fill up the requirements of Metro Manila consumers.

I have never really liked the smell and taste of fish from Laguna de Bay. They stink with the smell of mud. It is called “amoy gilik” by people around the lake.

Given the shortage of fish supply, however, Metro Manilans have long accepted the Laguna de Bay fish as part of their table fare.

Of course, Pres. Duterte himself knows that the lake has been virtually taken over by big fishermen.

“Makita mo sa (You can see it from the) plane, every time I go to Davao I pass by that lake there. Every time nakita ko, talagang wala… (I see this, there’s really nothing… ). And the fishermen are complaining about their loss. Talagang wala na sila kasi ang maliit na lugar iyon lang ang kanila (They’re really left with nothing because the small area, that’s for them),” the President was quoted by the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a news report..

“So dito pinaraan ko lang (here I’m saying) in a diplomatic way that Laguna Lake shall be transformed into a vibrant economic zone showcasing ecotourism by addressing the negative impact of the watershed destruction, land conversion and pollution. Ito ang nilagay ko (This is what I put down). This is what I am telling you. The poor fishermen will have priority to its entitlements,” Mr. Duterte had said in the same Inquirer report.

So, how would DENR Secretary Lopez handle this big problem?

She plans to implement a massive reforestation program around the lake and make sure that Laguna de Bay no longer becomes the “septic tank” of the communities around it and a dumping pit of industrial wastes of companies located at the periphery of the lake.

Lopez said municipalities around the lake would be required to put up water treatment facilities so that the waste water from the communities would be ‘cleaned” before this would flow into the lake.

As for the DA-BFAR, a program will be designed to ensure that those involved in the fishpen operations now would have an option on how to go on with their business without crowding the lake with fish pens while the small fishermen are given the opportunity to enjoy the bounty of a rehabilitated Laguna de Bay.

(Photo of the fishpens in Laguna de Bay downloaded from Google. Photos of President Duterte in Ateneo de Davao University taken yesterday by John Pagaduan.)