Outcry for livelihood:
Victims of fish kill in Leyte anxious to lose rights in Lake Bito

MACARTHUR, LEYTE – Fishermen in Lake Bito who had barely recovered from the fish kills last April and May are yet again to lose their sole source of livelihood after their meeting with Mayor Rene Leria and officials from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Leyte last Sept. 25. The meeting was held in the community chapel.

According to the officers of Unahin Lagi ang Diyos – Bito Lake Fisher folks Association (UNLAD-BLFA), the mayor told them that they may no longer be allowed to install fish cages in the lake unless they will disassociate themselves in UNLAD and join in the organization recognized by his office.

“Sobrang panggigipit naman ito sa amin,” (This is pure harassment) said Jesus Cabias, president of UNLAD-BLFA.

“Ang gusto lang namin ay ang makapaghanap-buhay ng marangal. Dahil ba nakikipaglaban kami sa mining dito sa aming lugar ay nawalan na rin kami ng karapatan na makapangisda sa lawa? Matagal na kaming nangingisda diyan sa lawa” he added. (What we only want is decent means livelihood. Is it because we are fighting against mining in our community, then we lose our rights to fish in the lake? We’ve been fishing here for so long).

UNLAD also reported that a DOLE staff even said that what are left for them are the barges and patches of soil from the mining operation in Brgy. Villa Imelda.

“We denounce this harassment to the fishermen of Lake Bito. We are calling on Mayor Leria to be fair on this decision. What are the grounds that UNLAD members all of sudden become ineligible to fish in the area considering that these fishermen are the ones fighting for the protection of the lake?” asked Jaybee Garganera, national coordinator of Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM).

“He actually needs to act faster on how the NICUA mining company will pay for the damages it caused during the fish kill,” Garganera added.

Provincial Office of BFAR will be granting floating cages to about 50 fishermen but they will have to clear all the current cages in the Lake. In a phone interview with Jose Ciervo, provincial fisheries officer, claimed that the victims of the fish kill are actually the priority beneficiary of the project.

Alyansa Tigil Mina is an alliance of mining-affected communities and their support groups of NGOs/POs and other civil society organizations who are opposing the aggressive promotion of large-scale mining in the Philippines. The alliance is currently pushing for a moratorium on mining, revocation of Executive Order 270-A, repeal of the Mining Act of 1995 and passage of the AMMB. (30)

Contact details:
Mr. Jesus Cabias, UNLAD Bito Lake Fisherfolks Association President – 0912.433.7768
Jaybee Garganera, ATM National Coordinator – 09277617602
Edel S. Garingan – ATM media and communication officer, 09228918972

ATM Press Release
Sept. 27, 2012

All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.