Laguna Lake, otherwise known as Laguna de Bay is now in its dying state and needs to be saved.
Fr. Reynante “Nante” Tolentino, shrine rector of the Diocesan Shrine and Parish of the Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (DSPOLHR) in Cardona, Rizal said on Tuesday, August 4, that the lake, considered as the largest fresh water lake in the country, is ‘gasping for breath’.
In his homily during the Holy Mass held at Cardona Fish Port a day prior to the observance of the second anniversary of the consecration of Laguna de Bay on Aug. 5, Fr. Nante called on the local and national government agencies and their leaders to take immediate action to save the lake which he likened to a mother who is in a hospital’s intensive care unit.
Fr. Reynante Tolentino while delivering his homily on Aug. 4 at Cardona Fish Port (photo from La Virgen de Sapao's FB page)
Tolentino, who is also the current president of the Association of Catholic Shrines and Pilgrimage of the Philippines (ACSP) told Manila Bulletin that his homily was meant to enlighten authorities in the government agencies that the death of the lake would eventually lead to starvation and even death as many families in the lakeshore municipalities in Laguna and Rizal depend on the lake’s produce for livelihood.
The Cardona’s Marian shrine rector’s view on the condition of the lake is also shared by the shrine as it also posted a comment entitled, “Ang Lawa ay Umiiyak, Nakikinig Ba Tayo?” (The Lake is Crying. Are We Listening?”
(from La Virgen de Sapao's FB page)
Tolentino issued his view in time for the commemoration this year of the second anniversary of the lake’s consecration by Antipolo Bishop Ruperto Santos, when on Aug. 5, 2024, the bishop offered prayers and blessed the lake a year after the Laguna Lake drowning incident happened in 2023 that killed 27 people.
The lake is surrounded by several municipalities in Rizal-the municipalities of Cardona, Binangonan, Angono, Baras, Tanay, Pililla, and Jalajala and 17 localities in Laguna Province, and Muntinlupa, Taguig and Pateros in Metro Manila.
Tolentino also urged the communities to make an active stand and concrete efforts to help in saving the lake, which is home to several fresh water fishes like milk fish, tilapia, carp, native silver perch (ayungin), white goby (biyang puti), and Manila sea catfish (kanduli).
The mass attendees join Fr. Nante during the Holy Mass at Cardona Fish Port on Aug. 4 (photo from La Virgen de Sapao's FB page)
Several journals and scientific studies, including reports made by the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) itself, the governing authority on the lake, showed that pollution, both from industrial and household continue to threaten the country’s largest fresh water lake.
Fish kills, or the mass death of fishes has been a regular occurrence in the lake.
“Malubha na ang sakit ng ating Inang Lawa. Para siyang nasa ICU na naghihingalo na at mamatay, Kapag siya ay tuluyang mamatay , madami ang magugutom,” (Our Mother Lake is critically ill. She is like a patient in the ICU—gasping for breath and on the verge of death. If she completely dies, many will go hungry), Fr. Nante said.
He also urged the people to continue to seek the intercession of the Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (the patron saint of Cardona and Saint Francis of Assisi (the second patron saint of the town) through their prayers.
The religious images-Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Jesus Nazareno, and Saint Francis of Assisi were brought to Cardona Fish port during the observance of the second anniversary of the lake's consecration (photo from La Virgen de Sapao's FB page)