Fisherfolk in Navotas City. Andrea Taguines, ABS-CBN News

Fisherfolk in Navotas held a protest on Friday to denounce a recent notice issued by the city government ordering them to self-demolish their mussel farms and stationary fish traps.

According to the notice sent by the Navotas City Agriculture Office, the fishermen only have 5 days upon receipt of the document to remove their mussel farms and fish traps, as these are considered illegal structures due to the lack of a permit to operate.

It also cited the 2008 Supreme Court Mandamus on Manila Bay that ordered over a dozen government agencies “to clean up and rehabilitate Manila Bay and restore its waters to SB classification to make it fit for swimming, skin-diving and other forms of contact recreation.”

But fisherfolk group PAMALAKAYA believes the demolition is intended to make way for the 650-hectare Navotas Coastal Bay Reclamation Project.

While the project is currently suspended pending further review by the Department of Environment of Natural Resources (DENR), the Philippine Reclamation Authority said last month that it expects the DENR to greenlight the resumption of reclamation activities there within this year.

“Justification at cover up doon sa kanilang plano talagang irreversible na reclamation,” PAMALAKAYA National Chairperson Hernando Hicap said.

(It’s a justification and cover-up for their reclamation plan, which has an irreversible effect).

Hicap said mussel farms and fish traps do not contribute to the destruction of Manila Bay nor are they specified as illegal structures in the high court’s mandamus. Instead, he said they even serve as artificial coral reefs.

“Hindi talaga siya pollution kasi yung gamit nilang materyales diyan, nabubulok, yung anahaw tsaka bamboo. Pag nabulok yan, magiging lupa yan, tutubo diyan yung iba-ibang pwedeng plankton na pagkain ng isda,” he explained.

(It really does not cause pollution because the materials they use for this are biodegradable, anahaw and bamboo. When these break down, they become soil where planktons can grow. That serves as food for the fish.)

“Kung wala yan, saan pa pupunta yung semilya? Yung mangingitlog na mga isda, wala nang pangitlugan. Anong mangyayari sa ating Manila Bay? ‘Yung nga ang dapat i-promulgate, ‘yung sustainable na pangisdaan,” added Hicap.

(Without them, where will the fingerlings go? The fish will no longer have a place to lay their eggs. What will happen to Manila Bay? This is what we should be promulgating, sustainable fishing.)

But both the Navotas City Public Information Office and the Navotas City Police Station (NCPS) said that they are only strictly enforcing the Supreme Court’s order.

“Hindi po siya connected sa reclamation. Ang reclamation po ay naka-hold naman po yan eh. Ito pong mga structure po na ‘to ay ilegal at nakakasira sa kalikasan natin kaya kailangang gawin yung iniuutos ng Supreme Court,” said NCPS Operations Office Police Captain Anthony Mondejar.

(This is not connected to reclamation. The reclamation is on hold. These structures are illegal and are damaging to the environment that is why we have to follow the order of the Supreme Court.)

Should the fishermen refuse to self-demolish their own equipment, Mondejar said the government will conduct clearing operations.

AFFECTED FISHERMEN 

According to PAMALAKAYA, since 2022, the local government of Navotas has already ordered the dismantling of more than 200 mussel farms and other fishing structures, affecting over 1,000 fisherfolks, mussel growers, and fish workers.

With this latest self-demolition order, 1,000 more are expected to lose their livelihood. 

If this pushes through, mussel farm operator Danilo Pablo said this will be the second time he experiences a demolition.

He also had a mussel farm in the Bulacan area that he was forced to shut down due to the construction of a new airport. 

According to Pablo, he received compensation from the project proponent, San Miguel Corporation (SMC), but he has yet to get all that he was promised.

“Ang sabi sa amin bibigyan kami ng livelihood program tapos yung mga pinag-aaral namin, kukunan nila ng scholarship. Hindi naman ho nangyari,” shared Pablo.

(They told us we were going to be part of a livelihood program and that they would provide scholarships for our children. That did not happen.)

Pablo hopes the local government of Navotas City will hear them out this time around.

“Gusto nga namin makausap si mayor. Kasi kung tinanggal yan, wala na kaming hanapbuhay. Anong gagawin namin sa bangka namin? Anong gagawin namin sa mga pinag-aaral namin? Kung tatanggalin nila, bigyan kami ng lugar kung saan kami pwede,” he said.

(We’ve been trying to talk to the Mayor. Because if they remove this, we will lose our livelihood. What will we do with our boats? How will we send our children to school? If they remove us from here, there should be another area where we can fish.)

ABS-CBN News is trying to reach out to SMC and Navotas City Mayor John Rey Tiangco for comment.