MPIC Boosts Livelihood For Fisherfolk Communities

Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), the country's premier infrastructure investment corporation, has donated fishing boats or bancas to eight barangays in Muntinlupa as part of a twin-pronged help for the fishermen for their livelihood and for a sustainable clean-up drive in Laguna Lake.

Photo Insert: In a ceremonial turnover last October 11, MPIC together with Huawei Philippines, Maynilad Water Services Inc. (Maynilad), the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), and the City Government of Muntinlupa, entrusted eight bancas to barangays Sucat, Buli, Alabang, Cupang, Bayanan, Putatan, Poblacion, and Tunasan.

About 800 members of the City Fisheries Aquatic Resource Management Council (CFARMC) of Muntinlupa received the fishing boats from MPIC, together with its partner organizations.

"Fishing is one of the oldest, most basic, and most important forms of livelihood. We see it as an integral part of our company's mission to uplift fisherfolk communities, who help supply our communities and our country with adequate food," says MPIC Chairman, President, and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan.

MPIC, in collaboration with Huawei Philippines, Maynilad Water Services Inc. (Maynilad), the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), and the City Government of Muntinlupa, entrusted eight bancas to the barangays of Sucat, Buli, Alabang, Cupang, Bayanan, Putatan, Poblacion, and Tunasan in a ceremonial turnover last October 11.

“MPIC’s donation of bancas not only enables our community folk to sustain their existing livelihoods, but also enforces a sense of responsibility to care for the Lake that they depend on daily,” says Muntinlupa City Mayor Hon. Rozzano Rufino “Ruffy” Biazon.

Aside from assisting these fishermen's livelihoods, the boats will also be used to undertake clean-up drives in Laguna Lake, in accordance with MPIC, Maynilad, and LLDA's Laguna de Bay Welfare Awareness advocacy (LAWA) of conserving Laguna de Bay.

Also, Maynilad also handed over three solar paddle wheels aerator water treatment systems to the City's Lake Management Office, which enhances the quality of water in rivers and lakes.

The LAWA Initiative

LAWA underlines the essential role that Laguna Lake plays in the region's social and economic development through Gabay Kalikasan, one of the Group's Gabay Advocacies for a Sustainable Philippines.

It unifies the group's efforts to raise awareness and implement various activities in accordance with the LLDA's mandate to transform Laguna Lake into a vibrant economic zone showcasing ecotourism by addressing the negative impact of watershed destruction, land conversion and pollution.

Supporting this directive means giving the necessary assistance to the communities surrounding Laguna Lake, the majority of which rely significantly on fishing as their primary source of income and subsistence. Their reliance on the lake has unavoidable consequences for the area's natural resources.

“Our unwavering commitment to build a more resilient and sustainable future for our people and our planet is the driving force behind our efforts,” says MPIC Chief Finance, Risk, and Sustainability Officer Chaye Cabal-Revilla. “We will be relentless in our pursuit to protect Laguna de Bay to sustain our present and future generations.”

Given the lake's importance to Metro Manila's ecology, MPIC, LLDA, and its partners recognized the necessity for coordinated efforts between the public and private sectors to ensure the Laguna Lake's long-term development for the benefit of current and future generations.

The LAWA initiative's initial priority areas will be communication, education, and public awareness; promotion of wastewater management systems to help address the lake's algal bloom problem; organization of clean-up drives for the tributaries; livelihood support and development; and the establishment of programs to impede the proliferation of water hyacinths, the most damaging aquatic plant worldwide, which currently covers approximately 20% of Laguna de Bay.

The LAWA initiative's livelihood support program stresses MPIC's role as the largest catalyst for a Sustainable Philippines, aimed at improving lives in the country by providing vital services and organizing advocacies that improve the quality of life for all Filipinos.

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