Guidelines Governing Removal and/or Restructuring of Fishpens in Laguna de Bay

November 16, 1978

LETTER OF INSTRUCTIONS NO. 769

WHEREAS, on October 9, 1978, a Presidential Directive was issued to destroy and remove all fishpens in Laguna de Bay without permit or license and to suspend issuance of fishpen permit or license pending clarification of the confused situation currently prevailing;

WHEREAS, in the execution of the order, problem areas were identified that must be clarified;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, do hereby promulgate the following guidelines to be observed in removal and/or restructuring of fishpens in Laguna de Bay:

1.  All fishpens without permit, outside of the fishpen belt and/or obstructing navigation shall be removed and destroyed immediately.

2.  Oversized fishpens with permit shall be restructured and the excess removed.

3.  Permits of fishpens occupying areas outside the fishpen belt or obstructing navigational lane shall be cancelled and the same removed.

4.  Owners of fishpens for demolition/restructuring but presently stocked shall be allowed to harvest the stock within ten (10) days upon receipt of notice for demolition/restructuring.

5.  Fishpen without permit but registered with LLDA prior to October 12, 1978, (date of receipt of the Presidential Order by LLDA) within the fishpen belt, and with the prescribed size shall be allowed to legitimate their operations by obtaining the necessary permit.

6.  Owners of fishpens identified for demolition/ restructuring shall be notified in writing giving the owners ten (10) days from receipt of notice within which to remove the same at his own expense and upon failure to do so the inter-agency task force headed by LLDA mentioned below shall remove the fishpen and the salvaged materials shall be appropriated as compensation for such removal. cdt

7.  In all cases, the fishpen owners shall pay the corresponding permit fee to Laguna Lake Development Authority if they have not paid the same from 1977 up to the present. Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources is hereby authorized to collect fishpen fee for 1976 and prior years.

An Inter-Agency Task Force chaired by the Laguna Lake Development Authority with the following as members: Ministry of Natural Resources, National Water Resources Council, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Rizal Province, Laguna Province and PC-INP Regional Command 4A, is hereby constituted to execute the presidential directive, subject to the guidelines herein set forth. For this purpose, an action plan shall be prepared by the Task Force. Services of the personnel of the agencies involved shall be made available.

Funds for the implementation of the approved Action Plan shall be drawn from the budget of the respective agencies concerned. Periodic reports shall be submitted to the Office of the President until the order is fully carried out.

All heads of Ministries, Bureaus and Offices and Instrumentalities of the government including government owned and/or controlled corporations are hereby enjoined to extend full support and assistance to the Task Force.

This instruction shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, on this 16th day of November, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Eight.