More than 200 mussel farms and other fishing structures in Navotas City are scheduled to be dismantled, a move that is expected to affect around 1,000 local fishermen, mussel growers, and fish workers, a fishing group disclosed on Monday, Aug. 22.

In a statement, the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said the 650-hectare Navotas Coastal Bay Reclamation Project, of which the local government unit (LGU) is the primary proponent, will cover the fishing structures.

The group then urged the Navotas LGU, through Mayor John Rey Tiangco, to safeguard his citizens' way of life as fishermen.

“Malaki ang pananagutan ni Mayor Tiangco sa mga mangingisda ng Navotas kung sakaling matuloy ang demolisyon ng kanilang mga tahungan. Napag-alaman naming sa isinagawang konsultasyon sa mga magtatahong kamakailan na pinagkaitan ng Navotas LGU ng panibagong permit ang kanilang mga tahungan sa kabila ng pagtalima nila sa mga rekisitos (Mayor Tiangco is responsible for the fishermen of Navotas if the demolition of their mussel farms goes ahead. We found out in the consultation conducted with the petitioners recently that the Navotas LGU denied new permits to their farmers despite their compliance with the requirements),” said Pamalakaya National Chairperson Fernando Hicap.

Hicap questioned the Navotas LGU on why it refused to renew the permits of fishermen for their fishing structures, despite the fact that the fishermen had met all of the requirements.

The Pamalakaya chairperson cited 2008 Supreme Court mandamus directing various government agencies to clean-up, restore, and rehabilitate the body of water for recreational use and fishery resources development.

“‘Di lamang pagkakait ito ng kabuhayan sa mga mangingisda kundi paglabag sa kautusan ng Korte Suprema na ibalik ang dating sigla ng Manila Bay. Walang nakasaad dito na baklasin ang mga palaisdaan na malaki ang kontribusyon sa produktibidad ng dagat at seguridad sa pagkain ng bansa. Lalong walang nakasaad sa kautusang ito na magsagawa ng mapaminsalang reklamasyon (This is not only a denial of livelihood to the fishermen but also a violation of the order of the Supreme Court to restore the former vitality of Manila Bay. Nothing is stated there saying to remove fisher farms that contribute significantly to the productivity of the sea and the food security of the country. In particular, there is nothing in this order to carry out destructive reclamation),” he said.

The Manila Bulletin has tried to reach out to Navotas LGU for their side but the city government has yet to comment on the matter.

Pamalakaya, meanwhile, said that it will bring up the issue during their meeting with the secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on August 24.