THE LAGUNA Lake Development Authority (LLDA) has mandated a 10% increase in daily penalties for water pollution cases within Laguna Lake.
In a Board Resolution, the LLDA said that a 10% increase in penalties, or P11,000 daily, will be implemented every two years.
It said that the move was to “compensate for inflation and to maintain the deterrent function of such fines and penalties.
The LLDA added that a daily penalty of P10,000 will be given to pending water pollution cases from June 17, 2011 to Oct. 31, 2023.
It added that all cases already resolved and having become “final and executory” would no longer be reopened.
Republic Act (RA) No. 9275, or the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004, aims to protect the country’s water bodies from pollution from land-based sources.
“RA 9275 likewise recognizes that water pollution cases involving acts of omission committed within the Laguna Lake Region shall be dealt with under the procedures under Republic Act 4850,” it added.
RA 4850 mandated the development and growth of Laguna Lake and created the LLDA. — Adrian H. Halili
