The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) is calling on Manila Mayor Isko Moreno to enact a city ordinance prohibiting land-reclamation projects and spearhead a rehabilitation program that will restore the Manila Bay’s pristine condition and capacity.
The call was made by Pamalakaya after Deputy Speaker and Pangasinan Rep. Rose Marie “Baby” Arenas filed House Bill 3169 seeking to ban reclamation activities in the entire Manila Bay.
Pamalakaya said it welcome Arenas’s filing of the bill, saying it would strengthen their legal basis to oppose reclamation projects that would further destroy the ecosystem of Manila Bay and worse, lead to the force eviction of thousands of fishing and coastal families.
The Arenas bill also seeks to revoke all reclamation projects that already acquired environmental compliance certificates (ECCs) from authorities.
Meanwhile, the Bayan Muna Party-list has also refiled House Bill 257 declaring Manila Bay as “reclamation-free zone” to protect its marine resources and the coastal population situated around it.
“It should have not come to this point when lawmakers will have to file a bill to protect Manila Bay because the Supreme Court had already issued in 2008 an order calling for its protection and rehabilitation. The past and present administration has openly defied this order by allowing destructive land-reclamation projects to happen,” said Fernando Hicap, national chairman of Pamalakaya.
Noting that restoring the Manila Bay without reclamation was one of the campaign promises of Mayor Isko during the 2019 midterm polls, Hicap, a former Anakpawis Party-list lawmaker challenged the populist Manila mayor to fulfill his promise by moving to stop all land-reclamation projects in Manila Bay—or at least, all projects within his political jurisdiction.
According to Pamalakaya there are at least four reclamation projects in Manila that were approved by former Mayor Joseph Estrada; namely, the 417-hectare Horizon Manila Project, the 497.42-hectare New Manila Bay International Community, 148-hectare Manila Solar City Project, and the 50-hectare expansion of Manila Harbour Center in Tondo.
Image credits: Mindauga Dulinska | Dreamstime.com