Take up hunger in Laguna Lake, bets urged

MANILA, Philippines - Fisherfolk groups, led by Pamalakaya, on Friday called on national and local candidates in the May 2013 midterm elections to take up the issue of hunger in fishing communities around the 94,000 hectare Laguna de Bay.

Pamalakaya vice chairperson Salvador France said that seven out of 10 fisherfolks in Laguna de Bay have no regular three meals a day owing to the cut in fish production caused by various privatization and conversion projects in Laguna Lake under the Public-Private Partnership.

France also attributed the fish production cut  to  the invasion of alien species like janitor fish and knife fish and the destruction of lake ecology as a result of the permanent closure of Napindan Control Hydraulic Structure that prevents waters of Manila Bay from coming in to Laguna Lake via the Pasig River.

"Those running for senators, district congressmen, governors and other local elective posts who are directly link with Laguna Lake should consider that nearly two million families," France added.

The groups said the hunger and poverty of the fisherfolk are further compounded by the plan of the national government to demolish 82,040 fishing households to pave the way for the 100-kilometer road dike project around Laguna de Bay.

Citing Laguna Lake Development Authority’s Laguna de Bay Basin Project 2020, the groups said the national government will be evicting  6,800 households in Barangay Malaban in Binan, Laguna; 4,800 families in Barangay Sinalhan in Sta.Rosa, Laguna; 60,000 households in Barangay San Juan also known as Lupang Arenda in Taytay, Rizal; and 10,440 other families composed of informal settlers along shoreline of Laguna Lake. - Dennis Carcamo