Fishkill leaves Dumagats starving

DONYA REMEDIOS TRINIDAD, Bulacan – A fishkill in the western portion of the Angat Dam reservoir has left hundreds of Dumagat tribesmen starving for almost a month now.

Bro. Martin Francisco of the Sagip Sierra Madre Multisectoral Council told The STAR that Dumagat tribesmen expressed fear that the fishkill might have been caused by hazardous chemicals.

He said the Dumagats living in different settlements within the 63,000-hectare Angat watershed are dependent on fishing in the dam’s reservoir.

Francisco said the tribesmen’s fear about chemicals causing the fishkill is not baseless, recounting that a number of black containers littered the tributaries in the eastern part of the watershed after typhoons “Wilma” and “Yoyong” dumped heavy rainfall on the Sierra Madre in December 2004.

The black containers were reportedly used for chemicals utilized in boring the 13-kilometer Umiray-Angat Transbasin Project in the early 1990s. Contractors buried the containers in Sitio Macua here near the transbasin’s outlet.

Francisco said strong water current from the transbasin at the height of the two typhoons unearthed the black containers.

Francisco, however, said there is little possibility that the fishkill was caused by the contents of these black containers.

Instead he hinted that chemicals used by miners on Mt. Inuman on the southeastern portion of the watershed could have caused the fishkill.

Mendel Garcia, of the Anat Watershed Area Team of the National Power Corp. that manages the Angat watershed, confirmed the fishkill.

But he said sudden change of weather, not hazardous chemicals, could be behind the fishkill.

Vice Gov. Willy Alvarado has requested the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Central Luzon to investigate the incident.

The STAR tried to contact Dr. Remedios Ongtangco, BFAR-Central Luzon director, but failed.