Gov't action urged to save Lake Lanao from total ruin

MANILA, Philippines - Lanao del Sur Rep. Hussein Pangandaman has asked several government agencies to do something to save Lake Lanao in Mindanano from total degradation.

Pangandaman said non-compliance with laws that have been enacted to prevent the environmental degradation of Lake Lanao is the root cause of the lake’s destruction.

“The real problem is the diminishing water inflow to Lake Lanao brought about by the destruction of its watershed compounded by the impact of climate change,” Pangandaman said.

Based on a study by UNESCO/UN if this will continue to go on, by 2042 there will be no more water left in Lake Lanao.

According to Pangandaman, there are sufficient laws to ensure the protection of the lake and provide sufficient water even for future demands.

Pangandaman said the environmental clearance certificate issued on Jan. 14, 1992 contained several conditions that would have prevented the destruction of the lake’s watershed.

“Non-compliance with the conditionalities was due to neglect by concerned government agencies,” he said.

Pangandaman also cited Memorandum Order 421 of March 25, 1992 which created the Lake Lanao Watershed Protection and Development Council.

The LLWPDC was tasked to formulate plans for the protection and management of the lake, as well as conduct watershed studies and preparation of policy recommendation, Pangandaman noted.

“The council’s only accomplishment is a five-year Integrated Development Plan costing P2.8 billion in December 2003, with no indication where to get the funds. It is still a plan up to this day,” the congressman said.

The National Integrated Protected Area System Act of 1992 or Republic Act 7856, was also pointed out by Pangandaman.

“This law effectively puts Lake Lanao as an initial component of the NIPAS under the management of DENR National. However, the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) was only organized last Jan. 12, 2011, almost 19 years after the law was passed,” Pangandaman said.

As a result, Pangandaman said he is pushing for a law creating the Ranao Development Authority (RDA) to ensure “that a Mindanao power crisis would be at thing of the past.”

“The creation of the RDA will not require any additional expenses from the government. It will only require the realignment of the resources already provided for under RA 7160 and RA 9136,” he added.

Lake Lanao is situated in the province of Lanao del Sur in ARMM and is the largest freshwater lake in the country.

“Lake Lanao is vital to the economic development of the communities around its shorelines, the Island of Mindanao and the entire country, being the major source of hydroelectric power,” Pangandaman said.

Along the Agus river which is the lake’s only outlet, are six hydroelectric power plants arranged in cascading series owned and operated by the National Power Corp., Pangandaman reported.

The Agus grid reportedly generates a total installed capacity of 727.1 MW which provides about 50 percent of the total electricity needs of the people in Mindanao.

“In order to regulate and sustain the water flowing into the hydroelectric plants, the water level in the lake is controlled,” he said.

“The fluctuation in the water level by a combination of human and natural factors greatly contributed to the disruption of the lake’s ecological balance,” Pangandaman added.