A progressive fisherfolk group on Friday, March 14, slammed the local government unit (LGU) of Navotas City for allegedly “refusing” to allow the reinstallation of the mussel farms it dismantled a year ago.
It can be recalled that the demolition of over 200 mussel farms last year for the 650-hectare Navotas City Reclamation Project displaced over 1,000 fisherfolk, fish workers, and tahungan operators, stripping them of their livelihood.
Members of the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) picketed in front of Navotas City Hall as they urged the city government to issue permits to the operators of the mussel farms in the city.
Rommel Escarial, the president of Pamalakaya-Navotas, said that mussel fishers should be allowed to reinstall the fishing structures while the reclamation projects are still on hold.
"Habang nakabinbin ang mga proyektong reklamasyon sa Manila Bay, dapat pahintulutan kaming muling makapagtayo ng mga tahungan sa aming pangisdaan (While the reclamation projects in Manila Bay are still pending, we should be allowed to rebuild our mussel farms in our fishing grounds),” he said.
“Isang taon na mula nang tanggalan kami ng aming kabuhayan at marami pa sa amin ang hindi pa rin nakakaahon mula sa pagkalugi (It has been a year since we lost our livelihood, and many of us have yet to recover from the losses),” he added.
According to Escarial, the recent cumulative impact study on the reclamation of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) further justifies the need for the government to restore their source of livelihood.
He pointed out that even the DENR could not deny the environmental damage caused by reclamation, arguing that there is no reason to continue depriving mussel farmers in Navotas of their right to earn a living.
It is worth noting that the full report on Manila Bay’s reclamation projects, conducted by the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI) under the DENR’s commission, has yet to be released to the public.
The Manila Bulletin sought the Navotas local government’s response to Pamalakaya’s claims, but it has not provided any statement yet.
In 2023, President Marcos suspended all reclamation projects in Manila Bay due to environmental concerns, pending the DENR’s review of 22 proposed developments.