text SAMIRA GUTOC
Marawi City – Amidst the sounds of gongs and kulintangs, more than 200 representatives of academe, local governments of Lanao del Sur and Marawi City, the National Power Corporation, the Sultanates, Ulama League of the Philippines, government agencies, military and people’s organizations joined the Philippine Muslim Women Council (PMWC), a national NGO, in a dramatic signing of a “Covenant to Conserve and Protect Lake Lanao, the second largest freshwater lake in the Philippines and one of the 5 oldest in the world.”
US Ambassador Kristie Kenney, in her first visit to Marawi, also joined the women and youths in “standing up to protect the environment” in her keynote speech rendered at Marawi Resort Hotel during the Conference-Workshop on Environmental Conservation with the theme, “Stewards of Mother Nature, Stand Up to Protect Lake Lanao.”
Lanao del Sur Governor Aleem Bashier Manalao in his speech said the presence of the US Ambassador in the “summer capital of the South will help us in preserving the rich natural resources we have for our people and the whole of Mindanao.”
“We take pride in showing to you the beauty of our province endowed with the panoramic beauty of the place, its fertile soil, cool climate and the source of power for Mindanao, the enchanting Lake Lanao with the Sleeping Lady serving as backdrop.”
Sectoral leaders gave their pledges to conserve Lake Lanao. The president of the 16 Royal Sultanates of Lanao, Mayor Topaan Disomimba, said “losing the great Lanao Lake is losing as well the idiosyncratic identity of the Maranaws, the people of the Lake.”
Others who gave pledges were Dr. Aleem Mahid Mutilan, President of the Ulama League of the Philippines, Vice-President Dr. Pasayud Macarambon’s representative of the National Power Corporation, General Manager Baliamen Mamainte of the Lanao Sur Electric Cooperative, Col. Ramiro Alivio of the 1st Marine Brigade, the Department of Education-Marawi City representative and Ambassador Abulkhayr Alonto, founding Vice-Chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front.
PMWC President Omera Dianalan-Lucman, who was former Undersecretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development said that PMWC was building alliances and partnerships with all stakeholders to protect and develop Lake Lanao.
“We aim to create a critical mass with political will out of the participants of this conference.”Supported by the United States Agency for International Development through the ECOGOV, the conference-workshop aimed to convene stakeholders and raise awareness on the need to promote solid waste management and advocate the implementation of the Lake Lanao Development Authority.
The organizer, PMWC, while acknowledging other movements such as Save Lake Lanao Movement (SALAM) and Ranao Claims Against the Power Plants (RCAPP) that have internationalized the environmental degradation of Lake Lanao, hopes to collaborate on programs to conserve and develop the Lake for the future generations of lake dwellers, the Maranaos.
Last October 2, the Diliman-based Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) issued an advisory discouraging residents from “using affected water for cooking and drinking.”
This is due to the discoloration attributed to the presence of cyanobacteria that can cause diseases ranging from liver damage, paralysis or even death, based on the report of BFAR-Region 10, Cagayan de Oro City, confirmed by MSU-Naawan.
PMWC attributed the degradation of Lake Lanao to “human and industrial waste and non-compliance of environmental compliance certificate by the DENR.”
Lake Lanao specialist Pipalawan Naga of SALAM said there used to be 40 endemic species in the Lake before the installation of the National Power Corporation (NPC) in the Agus rivers around the lake, but the hydroelectric power plants have affected the water level of the lake.
Naga said the aquatic biodiversity is threatened due to previous government interventions of introducing predatory species which destroyed the 18 endemic species in the lake.Workshop outputs on the causes of environmental degradation of Lake Lanao included concern for illegal logging causing deforestation, use of fertilizers causing water pollution, ignorance of the people on environmental laws, construction of regulatory dams and lack of sewerage system.
The participants recommended stronger political will by local government units to enforce and monitor environmental laws such as compliance with the Environmental Compliance Certificate issued by the DENR, environmental education/ information drive to raise awareness on solid waste management and watershed reforestation and people’s participation
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