In the largest lake of the country, Laguna de Bay, this reality is in full swing. Instead of fishermen celebrating, their bangkas (boats) were equipped with flags and demands. Fisherfolk organization Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) and the Save Laguna Lake Movement (SLLM), in an act of condemnation against the Laguna Lake Roadshare Network (LLRN) and a 2,000 hectare floating solar panel project, staged a fluvial protest to demand for the scrapping of the projects and opt for an alternative solution that directly seeks to address the challenges of the Laguna de Bay Region without compromising their livelihoods. 

The LLRN’s project rationale is simple: to create infrastructure that aims to boost regional connectivity and spur economic development in the Greater National Capital Region. From the name itself, the project involves significant infrastructure developments along the shoreline of Laguna de Bay. Meanwhile, the floating solar panel project is envisioned to be an alternative source of sustainable power as part of the government’s so-called transition to clean, renewable energy.

However, behind the veil of  “economic development” lies the looming displacement of the local fishing community whose decades spent fostering their livelihood in the lake are placed at great risk. These projects have also been scrutinized by local communities for their lack of consultation among those directly affected: the fisherfolk of Laguna de Bay. 

This is not the first time that a Marcos administration has undertaken such development projects at the expense of the local communities. History recalls that under the Bagong Lipunan sloganeering of the Marcos Sr. regime saw the displacement of the indigenous people of Calauit Island, justified by Imelda’s vision of bringing the wildlife of Kenya to the Philippines or the Chico River Dam construction that met fierce resistance from the indigenous people of the area. 

The story of the community around Laguna de Bay is no different. 

In 1966, Ferdinand Marcos Sr. signed Republic Act 4850, establishing the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), which sought to “develop” the Laguna de Bay area. While fish production and economic stimulation was seen with the creation of the LLDA, this was at the expense of the small-scale fisherfolk who were unable to compete with the influx of corporate investors, Marcos cronies, and foreigners in the business of aquaculture. The economic stimulation of the LLDA benefitted the conglomerates and capital which left behind the lake fisherfolk who, prior to the Marcosian project, had enjoyed a steady livelihood and thriving community. 

The Marcosian legacy of deforestation around the Laguna Lake area had also gravely affected the community around it leading to the shallowing of the lake’s depth.. This resulted in the declining number of fish catches, much to the detriment of the fishing community. 

Today, the LLDA participates in the Bagong Pilipinas project through the development of the LLRN. The same agency that introduced “economic development” to Laguna Lake is now, yet again, spearheading a development project that, while marketed as progress, risks displacing hundreds of fisherfolk families that were already vulnerable to begin with. 

As history echoes during the second Marcos administration, development from the top is met by resistance from below. Fisherfolk and communities around Laguna de Bay continue to struggle against elitist development and for a just, mass-oriented solution: the rehabilitation and genuine democratization of livelihood in the Laguna de Bay region.

What is needed now more than ever is a direct democratic approach to the governance of the Laguna de Bay Region. Any top-down approach of the Marcos administration is inadequate as it excludes the local fisherfolk community whose lives and livelihoods are most affected by these so-called developmental projects. 

It only goes to show that Marcos Jr. continues the same old bureaucratic, profit-driven, and dispossessing approaches that defined his father’s rule. (RVO)

In this column, Project Gunita offers a deeper look at the roots of today’s challenges by revisiting one of the darkest periods in Philippine history—the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Through archival materials, personal accounts, and historical records, Truth be Told (Again) sheds light on the lasting consequences of authoritarian rule and the ongoing efforts to distort our past. It calls on readers to reflect critically, demand accountability, and resist the fading of collective memory. The best way to counter recycled lies and recurring national problems is by telling the truth.