REGULATING GREED IS KEY
She thinks that the fish cages would no longer be harmful to the lake if only fish cage operators would follow the suggested stocking density per cage and feeding practices by the BFAR. “When we regulate the fish cages, fish kills could be prevented and the water can now circulate freely in the area,” she says.

This is echoed by freshwater biologist Dr. Lourdes Castillo, who adds, “Aquaculture as a technology is okay. It’s the greed of people that’s making it wrong.”

She also says that while unregulated fish cage operations are largely to blame for the lake’s environmental woes, attention must be paid as well to other factors, among these activities in the surrounding watershed.

Because the lake serves as the catch basin of waters drained from the watershed, any changes there would affect the water quality, quantity, and flow of the lake waters.

Castillo warns against converting land areas beside the Taal Lake into residential sites, noting that massive deforestation of trees in the slope could cause soil erosion, bringing huge sediment loads in the rivers, streams, and lakes.

In the meantime, Asis Perez, head of the green group Tanggol Kalikasan, says that no amount of effort from the DENR and BFAR to solve Taal Lake’s problems will succeed without the participation of local governments. This is also true of the URRF, he says.

“The real challenge here,” says Perez, an environmental lawyer, “is how you can integrate all these interests, these valid concerns so that you can have a better lake, productive, and at the same time, not being deteriorated.”

Milagros Chavez, leader of the Kilusan ng Maliliit na mga Mangingisda sa Lawa ng Taal, which has been fighting for fish cage regulations in the lake since the 1990s, believes as well that any regulation in Taal Lake would be effective only if the BFAR, local governments, and fish cage operators coordinate in enforcing it.

Earlier this month, Batangas Governor Vilma Santos-Recto announced her plans to start dismantling the estimated 1,200 abandoned fish cages in Taal Lake. She also said, “(Any) plans for Taal Lake cannot be done overnight and the same is true with alternative livelihood. But to regulate (fish cage operations), we have to start already."

The governor seemed disinclined to agree with Atienza’s insistence of ridding the lake of fish cages entirely, commenting that the environment secretary “was alarmed with the (condition of) Laguna de Bay. That was why he wanted a total dismantling (of cages)."

In fact, Atienza has said he would start working on Taal Lake as soon as he finishes rehabilitation activities in Laguna de Bay. Demolition of illegal fish cages began there last month.

The environment secretary even threatened to file administrative charges at the Ombudsman against the local officials who would defy his order and allow fish cages to stay in the Taal Lake. Atienza said nobody could prevent the DENR anymore from rehabilitating the country’s rivers, lakes, and seas. “Anybody who (tries will) have a problem,” he said.

LGU SUPPORT NEEDED
Lawyer Luna, though, believes that the DENR would be able to remove the cages only if it gets the support of the local governments.

At the very least, Protected Areas Superintendent Laudemir Salac seems to understand the need to involve local communities in protecting Taal Lake. He told PCIJ last year that he planned to ask the mayors of the 13 lakeside towns to assign a person from their municipality who could be trained and hired by the DENR as a full-time park ranger.

Once this happens, he said, the DENR would have 13 additional protected area staff to help guard the whole 65,000-hectare Taal Volcano Protected Landscape (TVPL). At the time, the department had only five forest rangers to monitor the entire area — with only one among them assigned full-time to the TVPL.

Salac said he would request the local governments involved to pay the salaries of the new personnel until the DENR had generated sufficient income from entrance fees to be collected from visitors to Taal Volcano and Taal Lake. Years before, the interim PAMB had imposed an entrance fee of P10 for each visitor, but this was not really implemented due to the lack of staff.

PCIJ asked Salac why the department was acting only now, when the lake was already polluted. His reply: “Perhaps it was only now that the need was realized.”