A recent Court of Appeals (CA) ruling allowed fishpen owners to continue operating in Laguna de Bay, prompting a state agency to call the decision a “setback” in President Duterte’s campaign to clean and clear the country’s largest inland body of water of illegal structures. The CA decision, issued on Oct. 18, essentially stops the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) from demolishing the fishing structures, occupying almost 1,000 hectares of the lake. The ruling covers fishpens within the “Cataquiz Belt,” a 977.27-ha lake zone in the vicinity of Taguig and Muntinlupa cities in Metro Manila.

Cinco, M. (2017, November 11). Court stops demolition of Laguna lake fishpens: LLDA says ruling from Court of Appeals a setback in President Duterte’s environmental campaign. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A13.