Court stops fee hike for Laguna fishpens

A Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) has issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) from implementing its board resolution increasing fees for operating and maintaining fishpens and fishcages at the Laguna de Bay.

The 20-day TRO issued by Judge Amelia Tria Infante, of the Manila RTC Branch 9, on Feb. 6 also inevitably affected the ongoing demolition of illegal and delinquent fish structures in the lake, which the LLDA has been implementing since late last year.

However, LLDA legal division office chief lawyer Eduardo Torres said the TRO issued in favor of the Federation of Fishpen and Fishcage Operators Association of Laguna de Bay Inc. is no more than "an impermanent setback."

According to Torres, Presidential Decree 605 bans Philippine courts from issuing a TRO and writ of preliminary injunction to agencies issuing permits, concessions, patents, etc.

He likewise noted that the Supreme Court issued a complementing guideline (OCA Circular 79-2003), which provides a list of cases wherein courts are not allowed to issue TROs.

Torres said Infante might have missed PD 605 in coming with up the TRO.

"It won’t be long when we got to hear from the Supreme Court. Any alteration on PD 605 would require a majority of the Philippine Congress with concurrence of the President," Torres said.

LLDA public information office chief Cristina Hernandez said the board resolution increased fees for maintaining fishcages from P400 to P6, 000 per hectare.

Hernandez emphasized that the P400 per hectare rate was in effect since 1978 and the increase in fees was implemented in 2002 but the "delinquent" operators merely cited the "stiff" fee increase when the LLDA started its campaign against illegal fish structures in 2006.