Mount Labo, the highest peak in Camarines Norte, which the province shares with Quezon and Camarines Sur, has already lost its heavy forest canopy.
Its denudation was blamed to a flash flood that caused the Labo River to overflow in December 2008, sweeping away several houses. The river, from which the town derived its name, always swells during bad weather.
Poor residents of the landlocked municipality, however, regard the Labo River as vital in providing access to the sea, their source of food and livelihood.
“It still yields fish, including ‘banak,’ catfish, tilapia, and eel,” says Mayor Dindo Pardo.
“Banak,” a freshwater mullet species, is a prized delicacy. “It is a specialty here. We serve it to our guests. Travelers who pass by our place would look for it in eateries, which sell it at a relatively higher price,” Pardo says.
The fish tastes good and is fleshy, he adds.
To replenish the stock of fish in the river, the municipal government released tilapia fingerlings on Sept. 7 in time for the weeklong Busig-on Festival, which pays tribute to the water body and its benefits to the people of Labo.
Threat
Busig-on means a swollen river in the vernacular. Pardo says the main threat to the river is siltation.
“Denudation of the mountains at its headwaters results in more sediments in the river. The sediments make the water murky and shallow,” he says.
Quarrying upstream, along with illegal logging, has worsened the problem. “That’s why we are appealing to those engaged in quarrying and illegal logging to stop the activities that destroy the river,” Pardo says.
He says the river rushes out from the same watershed area where springs that supply potable water to the town are found.
The municipal government has deputized watchmen to go after the illegal loggers.
Gov. Edgardo Tallado says one way of solving the siltation problem is dredging the river, but he adds that this would be costly.
“While we have yet to dredge the river, we encourage quarrying in the river so it would deepen a little,” Tallado says.
Moreover, he adds, deepening the river would solve flooding on the banks.
Pardo says residents have learned how to cope with their situations. “We have asked them to look for other places to live because settling on the riverbanks is risky, but they (residents) would not leave.”
“They have learned to live with it,” he says.