Fisherfolk want Laguna de Bay dredging project

MANILA, July 31 (PNA) -- Fisherfolk in Laguna are seeking for the immediate implementation of the P18.7-billion Laguna de Bay dredging project, saying it would help improve their livelihood.

Members of the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council, fisherfolk organizations and operators of small fish cages in the first district of Laguna have drafted a petition asking President Benigno Aquino lll to issue the green light for the project.

“The project offers tremendous benefits to us: the start of cleaning up the lake, the improvement of the flow of saltwater in and out of the lake, the increase in fish production as a result, and the establishment of ferry stations.

"These would enable us to improve our fishing activities and commerce as well as set up new ones," the petition said.

The dredging would deepen the lake from its current average depth of only two meters to allow the lake to hold a bigger volume of water, clear up navigational channels and establish 12 ferry stations.

Historical data showed the lake was as deep as 30 meters more than a century ago.

The said petition lauded the project, which is being undertaken by the Baggerwerken Decloedt En Zoon (BDC), a Belgian dredging company that also completed the dredging of a 17-kilometer stretch of the Pasig River two months ahead of schedule last year.

BDC made the proposal for the dredging of the lake using official development assistance (ODA) known as super subsidy from the Belgian government.

Fortis Bank, a subsidiary of the global banking giant BNP-Paribas, is also backing the project, which would increase the water holding capacity of the 94,900-hectare lake, the third biggest in Asia.

Company officers also met with Laguna Gov. Jeorge “ER” Estregan, who was reportedly in favor of the implementation of the project.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) earlier removed all legal obstacles by issuing an opinion that the project is covered by the ODA Law. (PNA)
LOR/pr