LLDA exec bares plans to tap MMDA in bid to stop encroachment on lakeshore 

by:  David Cagahastian

The Manila Bulletin

March 24, 2008

Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) General Manager Edgardo Manda has bared plans to tap the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to enforce laws against illegal settling on the Laguna Lake's shoreline to protect the country's largest lake. 

Manda said that in the absence of enforcement powers of the LLDA, he may tap the MMDA to enforce laws against illegal settling along the lakeshore within the jurisdictions of Taguig, Pasig, and Taytay and Cainta in Rizal province. 

Manda said some illegal settler groups have appealed to him not to involve the MMDA in enforcing the laws against illegal settling, but he said he may be forced to do so if they refuse to leave areas around the lake mandated by law to be "non-disposable."

An estimate of 32,000 illegal settler families inhabit prohibited areas along the lakeshore, and they are being blamed for the garbage and human wastes pollution of the Laguna Lake, the country's biggest living lake and an important watershed for households in Southern Luzon and some parts of Metro Manila.  Manda said the increasing cases of dengue in the provinces of Rizal and Laguna may be attributed to the stagnant waters trapped within the shoreland illegal settler colonies, and that the recent outbreak of typhoid fever in Calamba, Laguna may have been caused by contaminated water.

Manda also cited studies indicating that the pollution profile of the lake has changed, with the decrease in industrial and agricultural wastes by 11 percent and 27 percent, respectively, and the increase in domestic wastes by 38 percent, which are effects of illegal settlers along the lakeshore.

He said the protection of the lakeshore from encroachment is the first line of defense against pollution of the lake and the surrounding watershed, and to promote awareness of the lake's importance, the Save the Laguna Lake Coalition, with the LLDA as lead convenor, is organizing a series of events along the lakeshore for the Earth Day celebration in April.

Among the activities for Earth Day, which will be celebrated on April 22 with water protection and preservation as the theme, are tree planting and a cycling event along the Laguna Lake's shore on April 26 and 27.  More than 1,000 bikers from various cycling groups like the Cycling Advocates, the Fireflies Brigade and Philippine Cycling Federation have confirmed to participate in the cycling event.

Manda said the Save the Laguna Lake Coalition lines up activities for the annual celebration of Earth Day to make  people aware of the need to protect the lake and its importance to ensuring access to clean water for households in Southern Luzon and some parts of Metro Manila.