Fishermen in Taal Lake, notably those catching “tawilis” (Sardinella tawilis), an endemic species of fish there, are seeing declining sales after news got out that the sprawling body of water has served as a dumping area for murder victims.
In an interview, Laurel town Mayor Lyndon Bruce, who leads a coastal municipality in the fringes of the freshwater lake, lamented that poor fish sales began shortly after the case of over 100 missing “sabungeros” (cock-fighting enthusiasts) reignited in the headlines.
“The missing sabungeros issue is currently dominating the news. Of course, people are thinking negative thoughts, and are hesitating about buying fish [caught in Taal Lake],” he said in Filipino.
The town chief said that the decline in fish sales is also being felt by fishermen based in other coastal towns of Taal Lake.
However, Bruce argued that there is no longer any reason to be appalled by the fish currently being caught in the lake because the alleged crimes supposedly happened over four years ago, and any decomposing remains would no longer pose a health risk today.
“I have been saying, if this really happened, it was way back in 2020 or 2021,” he added.
Aside from tawilis, which comes from Taal exclusively, the lake is also a major source of cultured fish, such as tilapia and bangus (milk fish), supplying Metro Manila and the CALABARZON region.
Last week, outgoing Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas told Manila Standard reports that Taal Lake has served as a disposal area for human cadavers came as a big surprise to him.
He pointed out that in 2021, when the “missing sabungeros” were supposed to have been thrown in the volcanic lake, the provincial government was preoccupied with other concerns, the most pressing of which was the COVID-19 pandemic.
For his part, Cuenca Mayor Alexander Magpantay shared that it is improbable for its coastal barangays to be a site for the said activity due to its geographical location.
“Our barangay is far behind Mt. Maculot, so before bringing it to us, it will be taken to another [town] first… I think it will be difficult for them to drop or place it in our coastal barangay because of our location,” he said in Filipino.
With an area of 23,420 hectares, Taal Lake, the third largest lake in the Philippines, is surrounded by the towns of Agoncillo, San Nicolas, Balete, Alitagtag, Cuenca, Mataasnakahoy, Lipa City, Tanauan City, Santa Teresita, Talisay, and Laurel.
