Facts:

The Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) was created through RA

No. 4850 in order to execute the policy towards environmental protection
and sustainable development so as to accelerate the development and
balanced growth of the Laguna Lake area and the surrounding provinces
and towns.

Upon implementation of RA 7160 (Local Government Code of 1991), the

municipalities assumed exclusive jurisdiction & authority to issue fishing
privileges within their municipal waters since Sec.149 thereof provides:
“Municipal corporations shall have the authority to grant fishery privileges in
the municipal waters and impose rental fees or charges therefore…” Big
fishpen operators took advantage of the occasion to establish fishpens &
fish cages to the consternation of the LLDA.
The implementation of separate independent policies in fish cages & fish
pen operation and the indiscriminate grant of fishpen permits by the
lakeshore municipalities have saturated the lake with fishpens, thereby
aggravating the current environmental problems and ecological stress of
Laguna Lake.

The LLDA then served notice to the general public that:

(1) fishpens, cages & other aqua-culture structures unregistered with the
LLDA as of March 31, 1993 are declared illegal;

(2) those declared illegal shall be subject to demolition by the Presidential

Task Force for Illegal Fishpen and Illegal Fishing; and

(3) owners of those declared illegal shall be criminally charged with

violation of Sec.39-A of RA 4850 as amended by PD 813.
A month later, the LLDA sent notices advising the owners of the illegally
constructed fishpens, fishcages and other aqua-culture structures advising
them to dismantle their respective structures otherwise demolition shall be
effected.

 
Issue
Which agency of the Government — the Laguna Lake Development
Authority or the towns and municipalities comprising the region — should
exercise jurisdiction over the Laguna Lake and its environs insofar as the
issuance of permits for fishery privileges is concerned?

Held
LLDA has jurisdiction over such matters because the charter of the LLDA
prevails over the Local Government Code of 1991.

The said charter constitutes a special law, while the latter is a general law.

The Local Government Code of 1991, has not repealed the provisions of
the charter of the Laguna Lake Development Authority, Republic Act No.
4850, as amended.

Thus, the Authority has the exclusive jurisdiction to issue permits for the
enjoyment of fishery privileges in Laguna de Bay to the exclusion of
municipalities situated therein and the authority to exercise such powers as
are by its charter vested on it.

In addition, the charter of the LLDA embodies a valid exercise of police

power for the purpose of protecting and developing the Laguna Lake
region, as opposed to the Local Government Code, which grants powers to
municipalities to issue fishing permits for revenue purposes.

Thus, it has to be concluded that the charter of the LLDA should prevail
over the Local Government Code of 1991 on matters affecting Laguna de
Bay.
Laguna Lake Development Authority vs CA
Natural Resources and Environmental Laws; Statutory Construction

GR No. 120865-71; Dec. 7 1995

FACTS:
The Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) was created through Republic Act No.
4850. It was granted, inter alia, exclusive jurisdiction to issue permits for the use of all
surface water for any project or activity in or affecting the said region including
navigation, construction, and operation of fishpens, fish enclosures, fish corrals and the
like.
Then came RA 7160, the Local Government Code of 1991. The municipalities in the
Laguna Lake region interpreted its provisions to mean that the newly passed law gave
municipal governments the exclusive jurisdiction to issue fishing privileges within their
municipal waters.

ISSUE:
Who should exercise jurisdiction over the Laguna Lake and its environs insofar as the
issuance of permits for fishing privileges is concerned, the LLDA or the towns and
municipalities comprising the region?

HELD:
LLDA has jurisdiction over such matters because the charter of the LLDA prevails over
the Local Government Code of 1991. The said charter constitutes a special law, while the
latter is a general law. It is basic in statutory construction that the enactment of a later
legislation which is a general law, cannot be construed to have repealed a special law.
The special law is to be taken as an exception to the general law in the absence of special
circumstances forcing a contrary conclusion.
In addition, the charter of the LLDA embodies a valid exercise of police power for the
purpose of protecting and developing the Laguna Lake region, as opposed to the Local
Government Code, which grants powers to municipalities to issue fishing permits for
revenue purposes.

Thus it has to be concluded that the charter of the LLDA should prevail over the Local
Government Code of 1991 on matters affecting Laguna de Bay.