Vilma Santos eats ‘non-carnivorous’ Tawilis to prove fish from Taal Lake safe to eat

Posted by ReyFort Media

MANILA, Philippines — Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos encouraged the public to still eat Tawilis, the freshwater sardine found in Taal Lake, which has seen significant drop in sales in the past few days amid reports of alleged human remains found in the area. 

“Tawilis, okay, nothing to worry with all these issues about our Taal. Nothing to worry. First of all, ang mga isda po natin diyan like Tilapia and Bangus, cultured ‘yan,” she said in her Facebook reel. 

“May mga fishpens po na nandidiyan na alaga po ang mga ‘yan. At ang Tawilis po natin non-carnivorous, hindi ito kumakain ng laman-laman, halaman ang kinakain nito,” she added. 

The actress-politician clarified about the issue of eating Tawilis with its reported drop in sales since the issue of the missing sabungeros (cockfighting enthusiasts) broke out. 

“There’s an issue sa nangyayari diyan sa Taal Lake pero hindi dapat maapektuhan ang pagkain ng magagandang isda na meron diyan. Napakalawak ng Taal Lake,” she said. 

“Ang importante ang mga isda diyan alaga po, so, nothing to worry! Enjoy Tawilis, enjoy Tilapia, and enjoy our Bangus and Maliputo. Mabuhay ang Taal Lake,” she added. 

Fisherfolk in Taal decried the the drop in sales last week, from P250 per kilo to P100, after news of suspected human remains found in the lake surfaced. Tawilis, or Sardinella tawilis, is a freshwater sardine that is endemic to Taal Lake. (J,M. Severo/Philstar)