Dumping garbage at Laguna Lake

LAST June, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) filed graft charges against several local officials of Aklan over the environmental disaster that has befallen the resort-island of Boracay.

According to the DILG, the local officials allowed almost all the establishments in Boracay to operate without the required permits. Out of 2,269 establishments, the DILG said only 95 were fully compliant with the laws.

The DILG action is commendable, in as far as it underscores the determination of the national government to hold local officials accountable for the miserable condition of the worldfamous island.

Local officials are mandated by law to serve at the forefront of environmental protection. They exercise regulatory power over companies whose operations directly impact on the environment, such as quarrying and mining. Yet the conduct of some local officials can hardly be construed as the conduct of stewards of the environment, but as enablers or accomplices to the pillage of mother nature. It is high time time that we make local officials accountable for their role in environmental degradation. After Boracay, the government should consider looking at its own backyard, Laguna Lake.

When I was chair of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), I became a member of the LLDA board and was made aware of the issues that threatened the 90,000hectare lake. Much of the work and the responsibility of protecting the lake rests on the local governments, particularly in stopping illegal reclamation and the discharge of wastes in their respective areas.

But over the years, Laguna Lake has been transformed from a bountiful, idyllic fishing ground into an environmental time bomb, its present dismal state a result of decades of indifference and neglect, especially on the part of local authorities. The lake is dotted by resorts, business establishments, and legal and illegal fish pens -- owned by businessmen, politicians, and retired military and police officers. The lakeside area is populated by illegal settlers, poultry farms, piggeries and factories that treat the lake as their sewage. It is true that some local governments undertake measures to remove illegal fish pens, stop illegal reclamation, and penalize factories for waste dumping. Yet these problems resurface after several months. It is a cycle that needs to be broken. But as long as local governments are negligent or look the other way, we may as well begin the countdown to the death of Laguna Lake.

Case in point: for the last six years, according to news reports, two garbage hauling companies have converted a portion of Laguna Lake located in Taguig into a dumping ground for Metro Manila’s garbage.

According to the LLDA, IPM Construction and Development Corp. and Level Up Construction and Development Corp. have illegally reclaimed 47 hectares of the lake. The LLDA has ordered the closure of the sites, and have filed criminal and administrative charges against the two companies.

These companies assert that the area is just a parking lot for their dump trucks. But the LLDA claims that it has strong evidence -- among them aerial photos and satellite images -- to prove that these companies have been dumping garbage on an illegally reclaimed part of the lake in Barangay Calzada, Taguig, since 2012. The news reports added that these two companies are garbage contractors for Manila, Quezon City, Pasay, and Taguig.

Expectedly, water tests showed high levels of toxic chemicals and fecal coliform in the lake water, prompting agency officials to consider a ban on fishing in the areas near the illegal dump site.

An LLDA official said the legal action was unprecedented, and proves “that the government is serious in stopping illegal reclamation and environmental degradation on Laguna Lake.”

The LLDA should not stop with charging the two companies. It should consider looking into the liabilities of the local government and taking the appropriate action. These illegal activities have been going on for the last six years. It would be naive to think that the local government had no knowledge of these illegal acts, since all business establishments are subject to regular inspections to ensure compliance with the terms of their permits and national laws.

We laud local governments when they fulfill their mandate to protect the environment. It is thus only proper that local governments should be held accountable for the deterioration of the environment in their respective areas. It is not enough that we shame them. There should be accountability. These local governments are complicit in environmental destruction through neglect, ignorance, or connivance. Perhaps, all of the above.