Joselito Malig

Article (news)

Vilma Santos boodle fight

Dennis Datu

ABS-CBN News

Top officials of Batangas province and representatives from Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR-Calabarzon)  gathered for a boodle fight in the town of Laurel to ease public fears about eating fish sourced from Taal Lake.This comes after whistleblower Julie Patidongan revealed that the bodies of the missing cockfighting aficionados (sabungeros) were allegedly dumped into Taal Lake.Governor Vilma Santos-Recto, together with mayors and BFAR officials, shared various fish dishes, including tilapia, tawilis, and bangus (milkfish).Governor Santos-Recto said the growing public fear of consuming fish from Taal Lake is alarming because it has already affected the livelihoods of many local fishermen.The governor emphasized that fish from Taal Lake are safe to eat, as they are raised in fish cages.“Napakalawak po ng lawa ng Taal kung mayroon man silang anong issue na nakikita eh napakaliit lang na parte ng daliri yun  issue ng lugar na yun pero ang Taal po natin ay napakalawak  at andoon po yung mga cultured fish, nandoon din po ang mga tawilis, so huwag kayo magwo-worry” said Santos-Recto.The governor also blamed what she described as &quot;exaggerated media coverage&quot; for fueling public fear.“If I may be honest masyado lang po na exaggerated yung news, uulitin ko po kung mayroon man affected ay katitiling lang ng daliri” she added.BFAR-Calabarzon Regional Director Sammy Malvas also explained that tilapia and bangus do not feed on decaying organic matter like rotting meat.“Yung mga tilapia natin at bangus dito sa lawa ay kinu-culture, ibig sabihin  inaalagaan sila sa cages,binibigyan ng pagkain, binibigyan ng patuka, binibigyan ng commercial feeds, kung wala man po yan, halimbawa hindi siya binibigyan ng feeds, ang kinakain naman po ng ating mga tilapia ay natural food, mga lumot, hindi po laman ng mga hayop”  Malvas clarified.Malvas stressed that restoring the fishing industry is crucial because Taal Lake supplies a large portion of tilapia to Metro Manila.“60 percent  ng suplay sa Taal Lake ay isinusuplay sa NCR at for tilapia alone 40 percent ng requirement ng metro manila ay nanggagaling sa Taal, ganoon siya kaimportante kaya huwag po tayo matakot,” said Malvas.Santos-Recto also announced that they have started distributing financial aid of P3,000 to each fisherman whose livelihood has been affected.According to the provincial government of Batangas, more than 3,000 fishermen and fish vendors have been affected due to the sudden drop in sales.Malvas noted that while the farm gate price of fish remains high, the problem is that vendors are forced to sell them at a lower price in the market because people are afraid to buy.“Dahil nga mayroon takot  na hindi mabili  dahil sa isyu nga na kumakain nga daw po  ng laman, again hindi po yun totoo, safe na safe po kainin yung ating mga isda na galing sa Taal Lake,” Malvas reiterated.BFAR has yet to release an official estimate of the total financial loss since the assessment is still ongoing.According to BFAR estimates, around 3.2 metric tons of tawilis and 100 metric tons of tilapia and bangus are harvested daily from Taal Lake.There are about 11,000 registered fisherfolk in Taal Lake who could be affected if public concern continues over the ongoing search for the bodies of the missing cockfighting enthusiasts allegedly dumped in the lake.Officials from Batangas and BFAR are hopeful that public fear will subside soon and the tilapia, bangus, tawilis, and maliputo fishing industries from Taal Lake will recover.<div> </div><div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b8qgQCcpcTE??si=NjWFebIBgZYyat8V&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>

Top officials of Batangas province and representatives from Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR-Calabarzon) gathered for a boodle fight in the town of Laurel to ease public fears about eating fish sourced from Taal Lake.

Top officials of Batangas province and representatives from Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR-Calabarzon) gathered for a boodle fight in the town of Laurel to ease public fears about eating fish sourced from Taal Lake.

Batangas officials hold 'boodle fight' to ease public fear of eating fish from Taal Lake

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Batangas officials hold 'boodle fight' to ease public fear of eating fish from Taal Lake

Dennis Datu,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 23, 2025 12:23 AM PHT

Read More:

Taal Lake

BFAR

fisheries

missing sabungeros

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