Reclamation is altering Laguna de Bay's shores, and lives that rely on it

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MANILA, Philippines — For many who live around Laguna de Bay, life goes on even as reclamation slowly eats away at the water.

Ramonito Domingo was fixing his nets on a small makeshift wharf sandwiched between two reclaimed areas. As he and other fisherfolk steered their boats toward the lake, dump trucks and backhoes moved along the shoreline behind them.

Domingo used to work in construction before buying a boat to fish on Laguna de Bay. He has lived in the area for more than three decades and still remembers when the shoreline was untouched by artificial land.

In the short time he has worked as a fisher, Domingo said he has already felt a sharp decline in the quality of the catch as construction intensified around them.

The mud from the projects has made the waters shallower, he said. Fish breeding has also slowed, with growth cycles stretching from about a year to nearly two. He attributes this to pollution from development.

Reclamation has chipped away at Laguna de Bay for years. The question is at what cost.

The Philippine Reclamation Authority defines reclamation as the "deliberate process of converting foreshore land, submerged areas or bodies of water into land by filling or other means using dredge fill and other suitable materials for specific purpose(s)."

Even landlocked Laguna de Bay is not exempt. While the government has suspended reclamation in the lake for now, the cumulative impact of projects in recent years remains largely unreported.

Using Google Earth, Philstar.com identified multiple instances of apparent reclamation along the lake's shores. Through satellite image comparisons across different years, at least four areas showed shorelines extended by artificial means.

The changes were particularly visible along C6 Road in Taguig City. During a visit to the site, Philstar.com found that a flood control project is being built there by a company involved in the corruption controversy.

Reclamation is not limited to Taguig. Similar extensions are visible in parts of Laguna and Rizal.

Environmental lawyer and a marine biologist from Oceana both confirmed to Philstar.com that satellite images showed reclamation activity.

Fish left, and so did they

Laguna de Bay is the largest lake in the country, serving as a home to 31 fish species.

Fernando Hicap, national chairperson of fisherfolk group PAMALAKAYA, said members used to enjoy bountiful catches.

In the 1980s, two days of fishing could support an entire family, local chapter leaders told him. Now, fishers catch only a few types of fish.

The water has grown stagnant, Hicap said, pointing to structures built along the lake, including a geothermal plant. Many of these factories also draw water for cooling systems.

Reclamation has also cut off some fisherfolk from direct access to the lake, isolating homes that once stood by the water. Some residents used to grow vegetation along the lakeshore, Hicap said.

Many of the group's members have since left, returning to their home provinces because of dwindling catches.

Reclamation in the area began as early as the 1990s, Hicap said. 

"At ang pinaka-practice na reclamation nila dyan, 'yung pinaka-masama, kasi ang tinatapon nila basura, tapos tatabunan ng lupa, basura ulit, tatabunan ng lupa," Hicap said.

(The reclamation that they practice there is the worst, because they throw in trash, cover it with land, then trash again, and then land.)

Hicap said he himself saw it, as did other members of the group. They watched as truckloads of trash, from construction materials to plastic waste, dumped into the lake. 

The local governments in the area welcomed it, he added, as they had to worry less about dumpsites.

A calamity in the making

Diuvs De Jesus, a marine biologist from Oceana, said that reclamation buries living, productive environments. Even muddy areas serve an economic and ecological purpose, acting as breeding or nursery grounds for marine organisms. Shallower areas, too, support birdlife, she said. 

“You won’t be able to restore its original state, or it's totally destroyed when it's reclaimed,” De Jesus told Philstar.com.

She also raised concerns about coastal erosion and flooding. When you put land into the lake, the water will have to go somewhere else, De Jesus said. 

“Imagine you have a basin, then you put in land, it will overflow, right? So that's another hazard, flooding,” De Jesus said. 

Laguna de Bay is essentially a basin, fed by surrounding rivers. Reclamation increases the pressures on already congested rivers, and disrupts natural flow.

During typhoon season, she warned, flooding in nearby areas becomes more likely.

Structures built on reclaimed land also face long-term risks. Such land is prone to subsidence, or gradual sinking, and buildings are more vulnerable during earthquakes.

Persistent reclamation efforts 

Despite the dangers to communities, reclamation has persisted. Liza Osorio, an environmental lawyer from Oceana, said the driving force was space.

Developers want more land. Dumping land on water is often cheaper than acquiring vast swathes of urban property and getting permits for reclamation.

But reclaimed land does not automatically become private property, it still belongs to the public, and, while legal, it is not sustainable, Osorio said.

She said the permitting itself system is flawed. While developers are required to submit environmental impact assessments, these often become procedural requirements rather than meaningful evaluations.

"It's not an honest-to-goodness assessment of environmental impacts because our law is outdated, it's from 1978. Although we have recent regulations, these regulations and laws don't take into account climate impacts, for instance," Osorio said.

Technical solutions? 

The Laguna Lake Development Authority is the singular agency tasked with protecting the lake and has sole jurisdiction over its regulation.

LLDA General Manager Leopoldo Parumog told Philstar.com that the agency has intervened in several reclamation projects, including some linked to the Taguig local government. The agency has also had issues with smaller reclamation projects of land owners along the lakeshore.

While it does not issue reclamation permits, developers must secure approval for any construction affecting the lake. Illegal reclamation would face stiff fines, Parumog said.

However, he downplayed concerns about flooding, land subsidence and structural stability. What is needed is "just a technical intervention," he said. "I can tech them how."

But what is causing pollution in and around the bay? Parumog cited multiple factors, including informal settler families on the shoreline. The agency has been asking housing authorities to have them relocated or provide them with septic solutions, Parumog said.

He is also unaware of fisherfolk displaced specifically by reclamation. The LLDA would assist those affected by such developments, he said.

What now? 

Osorio said the government must provide a cumulative impact assessment on reclamation projects, including that of Laguna de Bay and Manila Bay. The public ought to know about these projects and be able to hold those behind them to account.

Environmental laws must also be updated and made more resposive to current realities, especially in the face of climate change.

De Jesus, the marine biologist, urged authorities to prioritize hazard assessments and consider nature-based solutions.

Hicap, the fisherfolk leader, echoed such calls. “Ang kailangan dyan, panatilihin natin yung environmental, ecological balance ng lawa. Dapat taniman natin ng mga kawayan, mga puno sa palibot ng lawa, para ma-hold yung erosyon,” he said said. 

(What is needed is to maintain the environmental, ecological balance of the lake, Bamboos and trees should be planted around the lake to hold the erosion.)