‘Do a Boracay’ on lake, bay

The main road in Boracay Island from Station 3 to Station 2 is closed to traffic Friday, 17 August 2018, as workers install large sewage pipes and widen it as part of the government’s rehabilitation of the premier resort destination in the Philippines. APL Atienza blamed illegal fish cages, industrial waste, untreated sewage and unchecked land reclamation for the decay of the waters around Metro Manila.

Malacañang “ought to do a Boracay” on Laguna Lake and Manila Bay which are both rotting fast due to unrestrained human activity, Buhay Partylist Rep. Lito Atienza said Sunday.

“Fish prices have gone up in Metro Manila partly due to the rapid degradation of our municipal waters. Even subsistence fisherfolk can no longer catch enough fish to feed their families,” Atienza, former three-term mayor of Manila, said.

Atienza’s remarks came amid reports that the price of galunggong (round scad) has surged to as high as P180 per kilo in wet markets around Metro Manila.

In a bid to stabilize the price of the widely consumed fish variety, the Department of Agriculture issued an administrative order last week permitting the importation of 17 million kilos of galunggong for direct sale to wet markets.

“Actually, it is not just the price of galunggong that has gone up. We had the wet markets surveyed and the prices of practically all fish varieties have gone up by at least P20 per kilo compared to a week ago,” Atienza said.

President Duterte in April decreed the six-month closure of Boracay to pave the way for the rehabilitation of the island known all over the world for its white sand beaches.

“If Malacañang can strong-arm the environmental renewal of Boracay, surely it can also do the same to Laguna Lake and Manila Bay,” Atienza, the senior deputy minority leader, said.

“If the President can sternly warn judges against obstructing public projects with injunctions, surely he can also caution them against impeding the demolition of illegal fishpens,” the lawmaker said.

Atienza blamed illegal fish cages, industrial waste, untreated sewage and unchecked land reclamation for the decay of the waters around Metro Manila.

“Aquatic life in our municipal waters is being suffocated. This is why we have fish kills or mass die-offs everywhere,” the partylist congressman said.