This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 4, February 27-March 5, 2005
Plan to Convert Laguna
Lake as Water Source Will Spell its Doom - Pamalakaya Laguna Lake, the
second biggest living lake in Southeast Asia, will be developed as a
source of potable water for southern Metro Manila. The largest fisherfolk
group warns that the plan will kill the lake – and the livelihood of
thousands of fishermen and farmers whose income depends on it. BY GERRY ALBERT
CORPUZ "This ambitious project on the
privatization and conversion of Laguna Lake The lake is the second biggest living
lake in Southeast Asia. Pamalakaya said a total of 146 billion
liters of water a year or 400 millions of liters of water a day will be
sourced out from Laguna Lake if the water project pushes through. Encroachment of corporate interests Pamalakaya national chair Fernando
Hicap said: "How can we save the lake from further destruction if the MWSS
pushes through with another grand water conversion scheme that would put
an end to Laguna Lake's existence as a living lake? The lake deserves a
permanent respite from government and corporate attacks to enable it to
regenerate". © 2004 Bulatlat
■
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Bulatlat
The Rizal and Laguna chapters of the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang
Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas or Pamalakaya (National Unity of Fisherfolk
Movements in the Philippines), a national organization of fisherfolks in
the country, last week condemned the planned conversion of Laguna Lake
into a source of drinking water by the Metropolitan Waterworks and
Sewerage System or MWSS.
will deliver the final death blow to the endangered lake", said
Pamalakaya-Rizal chapter chairperson Romy Antazo in an interview with
Bulatlat.
75%-25% sharing
Pamalakaya said the real beneficiaries of the Laguna Lake water conversion
project are not residents of south Metro Manila, which include Las Piñas,
Muntinlupa, Parañaque and some Cavite towns, but the two biggest private
water concessionaires in the country - Maynilad Water Service Inc. and
Manila Water Co.
In the proposed lake water project, Maynilad will distribute 75 percent of
the projected output or 300 million liters a day, while Manila Water will
be in charge of 25 percent amounting to100 million liters a day. This
will amount to 9.5 billion liters a year and 36.5 billion liters a year,
respectively, for the two concessionaires.
"Malacañang really loves the Lopezes and the Ayalas. The 75 percent-25
percent allocation between Maynilad and Manila Water is giving away the
people's water resources to private water monopolies," Pamalakaya said.
The Arroyo administration had requested the government of The Netherlands
to finance the MWSS Lake water project. Arroyo officials said the project
is crucial to the stability of the supply of drinking water for Metro
Manila. MWSS Administrator Orlando C. Andrade estimated the project cost
at around P6 billion.
Pamalakaya said that the natural purpose of Laguna Lake is for fishing,
navigation and irrigation of agricultural lands for fisherfolk, farmers
and residents surrounding the lake. It is supposed to irrigate 102,456
hectares of prime agricultural lands in Rizal and Laguna provinces and
some parts of south Metro Manila, the group also said.
However, the group complained that 2.04 billion cubic meters of the lake
is used annually for industrial cooling. Seventy percent of the 2 billion
cubic meters is being used by the power generating plants of the National
Power Corporation (Napocor) like the Malaya Thermal Power Plant (TPP),
Sucat TPP and Kalayaan TPP, while factories surrounding the lake are using
the rest, Pamalakaya added.
The group said around 1,572 companies surrounding the lake use its waters
for their cooling system. Added to this, big operators of commercial
fishpens exploit 34,000 hectares of Laguna Lake for aquaculture production
for export.
DPWH reclamation projects
Pamalakaya also denounced the Department of Public Works and Highways
(DPWH) for pursuing projects, which they said are too dangerous and would
kill the ecological balance of the lake. Three of the biggest projects of
DPWH are:
and the Tanyu Group of Companies. The new airport will involve the
reclamation
of 1,000 hectares from the lake.
hectares of lake waters in Taguig, 5,000 hectares in Muntinlupa, 500
hectares in Los Baños and another hundreds of hectares from Taytay to
Binangonan, Rizal.
Hicap concluded that the spate of government and corporate assaults on the
lake will lead to the death of Laguna Lake.
Bulatlat