It is the largest inland body of water in the Philippines and second largest lake in Southeast Asia. The Laguna de Bay as a natural resource is strategically situated in the midst of the country’s center of urban and industrial development. Aside from Metro Manila, it lies just west of Laguna de Bay, and straddles the whole of Laguna and Rizal provinces, parts of Batangas, Cavite and Quezon, which compose the CALABARZON area. This configuration makes the region a critical resource in terms of its importance as the main source of agricultural food commodities and industrial raw materials and manufactured goods.

Coverage

There are twenty-four (24) micro-watershed within the Laguna de Bay Region. The Region occupies 1.3% of the total land area of the Philippines. It encompasses the whole provinces of Rizal and Laguna, the towns of Tanauan, Sto. Tomas and Malvar in Batangas, the towns of Silang, GMA and Carmona in Cavite; the City of Tagaytay in Cavite, Lucban in Quezon province and the cities of Marikina, Pasig, Taguig, Muntinlupa, Pasay, Caloocan, Quezon, Manila and the town of Pateros in Metro Manila. To sum it up, Laguna de Bay Region boundaries include 61 municipalities and cities within 6 provinces including Metro Manila, of which 29 towns are lakeshore covering 187 barangays and 32 non-lakeshore towns.

The other lakes in the region include the Seven Crater Lakes in San Pablo City with a total surface area of 289.6 has. and Tadlak Lake in Los Baños with only 22.6 has.

Demography

Based on the data of NSO, as of 2007, the total population of the Laguna de Bay Region is 13.6M with a projected annual population growth rate of 2.76%. As of 2005, the alienable area, measure in hectares is 48,232 in NCR; 134,720 in Laguna; and 63,889 in Rizal.

Shoreland

The shoreland of Laguna de Bay is approximately 14,000 hectares distributed as follows: Laguna-66% or 9,200 has; Rizal-26% or 3,670 has; and Metro Manila-8% or 1.130 has. It is submerged in the lakewater for about 6 to 8 months that depends on the amount of rainfall.

Rapid population growth, industrial expansion, aggravated congestion in Metro Manila and the CALABARZON area, and unplanned infrastructure development have exposed the shoreland to continuous encroachment, illegal reclamation/quarrying and even unsafe farming practices. It has become a sanctuary for informal settlers, disposal site for domestic and industrial wastes. Shoreland areas have been the source of social clashes due to land tenure and ownership conflicts.

The distressing condition of the Lake’s natural bufferzone puts emphasis on the urgency of acquiring critical information on its current state of affairs; thus necessitating the strict implementation of the Shoreland Management Program of this Authority.

Under the Shoreland Management Program the LLDA regulates the use of shoreland areas of the LdB region. Any portion of the area cannot be titled or disposed of. However, it can be leased to qualified applicants only for specific allowable uses under a 5-year Shoreland Lease Agreement.

In 1996, the LLDA Board of Directors approved Board Resolution No. 23, Series of 1996, prescribing the “Implementing Rules and Regulations of Section 41, RA 4850, as amended” – Defining and regulating the use and/or occupancy of the Laguna de Bay shoreland areas. For the period 2001 to 2007, 123 Lease Agreements have been issued; and 495 Notices of Violation were served to offenders of LLDA’s shoreland rules and regulations.