Convening of Taal Lake management set

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

MANILA -- Environment Secretary Ramon Paje has welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court to issue a writ of kalikasan on Taal Lake, which formally stopped the release of permits for operation of fish cages.

Also, Paje directed Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Calabarzon Executive Director Reynulfo Juan, who also sits as the chair of the multisectoral Protected Areas Management Board (PAMB) of the Taal Volcano Protected Landscape (TVPL), to immediately convene the board to review and discuss the management plan of Taal Volcano in light of the writ of kalikasan.

Paje clarified, however, that the DENR does not issue permits for fish cages but the concerned local government units.

"The concerned mayor issues the annual permit and the license to operate fish cages within his/her political jurisdiction. In turn, he/she collects fees from the fish cage operators for their municipality," he said.

According to him, this practice of the LGUs assuming the mandate to issue permits has been institutionalized even prior to the creation of the PAMB, and continued to this day as the LGUs are also regular members of the board.

Among the issues that need to be looked into in light of the writ of kalikasan include the immediate dismantling of illegal fish cages and other aqua structures.

Paje said the board will also need to examine the contribution of establishments and other development activities along banks of rivers that drain pollutants into the lake.

"Another that will have to be looked into by the board are the land-based activities that contribute to the pollution of the rivers surrounding the protected area, that also impact on the water quality of Taal Lake," he said.

The High Court action came last week after Agham party-list Representative Angelo Palmones said in his petition that the increasing number of fish cages in the lake has contributed to the incidences of fish kill.

He added that the fish kill last year in Taal affected 2,105 metric tons of fish with an estimated amount of P148.7 million. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)