The proposed 2,000-hectare floating solar power project in Laguna de Bay has met opposition from the fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya).
In a statement released on Friday, June 28, the group expressed that it is seeking a meeting with the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) to voice Pamalakaya's opposition to the project.
Pamalakaya said it addressed a letter to LLDA General Manager Senando Santiago, outlining concerns over the "adverse impacts" of the proposed project on more than 800 registered fisherfolk in Bay town.
As such, the group noted that the floating solar project poses a risk to more than 8,000 fisherfolk in Laguna province, with 2,000 individuals involved in the aquaculture industry.
“Batid namin ang kahalagahan ng alternatibong pagkukunan ng enerhiya mula sa karaniwang marumi at di-sustenableng panggatong (coal), subalit hindi dapat masagasaan ang kapakanan at iba pang karapatan ng mga maliliit na mangingisda (We understand the importance of alternative energy sources from conventional dirty and unsustainable fuels (coal), but the welfare and other rights of small fisherfolk should not be disregarded),” Pamalakaya stated in its letter.
The group said the LLDA claimed that it consulted with the local government unit (LGU) and its traditional organization it established.
It can be recalled that Pamalakaya had earlier denounced the lack of consultation among the stakeholders when the project was approved.
“Pero hindi naman nakarating sa kalakhan ng mga mangingisda at residente ang napag-usapan. Dahil kung nakasama kami sa konsultasyon, tiyak na makakapagpahayag agad kami ng mahigpit naming reserbasyon sa proyekto (But the discussion did not reach the majority of fisherfolk and residents. Because if we were included in the consultation, we would surely have expressed our strong reservations about the project immediately),” Alejandro Alcones, Pamalakaya-Bay president, said in a statement.
Per Pamalakaya, the floating solar project, which has been auctioned by the LLDA, will encompass about 2,000 hectares in the southern and eastern sections of the nation's largest brackish lake. These areas specifically cover the cities of Calamba, Cabuyao, and Santa Rosa, along with the municipalities of Bay and Victoria in Laguna province.
The Manila Bulletin has sought the reaction of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' (DENR) to the issue, but the agency has yet to respond. The LLDA is an attached agency of the DENR.