Around 45,000 squatter families who took residence near the compound of the Bataan Shipping and Engineering Co. (Baseco) are facing possible eviction to pave the way for the massive reclamation projects along Manila Bay in Manila’s fifth district.
On Monday, members of the fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), together with Anakpawis party-list, led a protest gathering at Mendiola in Manila to denounce the plan.
According to Pamalakaya, a total of 547 hectares of reclamation projects will be carried out in the coastal waters of Manila’s thickly populated urban poor community for the expansion of existing ports and for mixed use.
These also include the 50-hectare expansion of the existing Manila Harbour Centre proposed by R-II Builders Inc., another 50-hectare Baseco Rehabilitation & Development Inc. reclamation project, the 40-hectare Philippine Reclamation Authority reclamation project and the biggest, the 407-hectare City of Pearl reclamation project proposed by Chinese-owned UAA Kinming Development Corp.
All the said projects were already given a go signal by the local government unit of Manila.
More than 45,000 urban poor and fisherfolk residents will be displaced if the reclamation projects push through, Pamalakaya said.
“The consistent effort of the government and volunteers from grassroots sectors will be useless and futile if a large part of Manila Bay will be reclaimed and giant establishments will be installed afterward,” Fernando Hicap, national coordinator of Pamalakaya said in a news statement.
“This is far from the rehabilitation that we have expected; displacing us from our community in exchange for big-ticket infrastructure projects that would inflict more damage to Manila Bay’s marine ecosystem and biodiversity. The rehabilitation we have been upholding ever since was the revival of mangrove forests and sea grasses that serve as fish habitat and sanctuaries,” Hicap added.
Hicap, a former Anakpawis representative, took the cudgels for the squatter families and defended them against the accusation of the government that they are the main source of pollution for lacking proper sanitation and hygiene. Jonathan L. Mayuga