A group of fishermen on Thursday filed a formal complaint before the Laguna Lake Development Authority to stop the reclamation at Laguna de Bay for absence of consultation.
The Rizal Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (RFARMC) called on the LLDA to conduct a probe and order a suspension of the ongoing reclamation activities, removal of the existing structures, and rehabilitation of the affected areas.
The group is represented by Sonny San Jose, chairman of Cardona, Rizal; Luisito Dabe of Tanay, Rizal; Mario Solomon of Taytay, Rizal; Leonardo Lipana of Angono, Rizal; Cristito Villones of Binangonan,
Rizal, and Jesse Falarcuna of Morong, Rizal.
The Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, Sanlakas Rizal and the Alliance of Unified People’s Organization in Lupang Arenda backed the Rizal fisherfolks’ stance.
“The undersigned residents and community members of the affected municipalities of Laguna Lake are completely in the dark as to the status of the ongoing reclamation activities in the area.
Our rights to be informed and to be consulted have been grossly violated in view of the fact that reclamation is already undergoing,” the complaint read.
“In vain, we sought clarification from various government offices, and now this complaint is the next step in our search for answers and solutions,” it further stated.
“There is a lot of reclamation activities at the lake not within our knowledge. But one thing is for sure, we fishermen are at the losing end if this reclamation continues to go on,” San Jose said.
“With fishing ground getting smaller, our livelihood opportunity gets smaller, too,” he added.
The affected areas of reclamation were Taytay, Binangonan and Angono, “where fisherfolk struggle with significantly restricted fishing spaces,” he said.
To date, there are 22 reclamation projects planned throughout Laguna Lake despite a mandate to protect the lake and a suspension order.
Over 13,000 fishermen in Rizal, Laguna and Metro Manila depend on the lake to sustain their families.