Thick beds of water hyacinth in Laguna de Bay have prompted the local government of Cardona in Rizal province to declare the town under a state of calamity. Swaths of the aquatic plant, stretching to about 2 kilometers from the shoreline, have virtually isolated communities in the town’s 14 villages, including those on Talim Island, according to Erwin Dionisio, municipal disaster risk reduction and management officer. “Fishermen could not sail out in the lake because of the water hyacinth blocking the waterway. Our fishing ports are also closed,” he said.

Cinco, M. (2017, November 18). Water hyacinths choke Rizal town: State of calamity declared to clear Laguna de Bay, aid fishers. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A13.