DILG chief wants Manila Bay reclamation projects scrapped ahead of rehabilitation

Reclamation projects in the Manila Bay should be shelved for good for the Manila Bay rehabilitation to succeed, Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said Tuesday.

Año made the pitch after a meeting with Department of Environment chief Roy Cimatu, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat and the rest of stakeholders ahead of the P47 billion Manila Bay rehabilitation project which will start on January 27.

“Para sa akin, 'di na dapat matuloy ang reclamation [projects sa Manila Bay]. Lalo lang darami ang tao, ang mga establishment...lalong mababarhan ang tubig. Paano 'yung cleanup kung dadagdagan mo ang problema?,” Año said.

“Nature should be preserved. We should not tamper nature,” Año added.

In November 2018, the local governments of the City of Manila and Pasay inked a memorandum of agreement with Manila Goldcoast Development Corp. (MGDC), SM Prime Holdings Inc.; and the Pasay Harbor City consortium for at least four reclamation projects in Manila Bay which include: the MGDC-Manila local government 148-hectare Solar City Project involving the southern parcel of the Manila-Cavite Coastal Road and Reclamation Project-North Sector; the Pasay LGU's joint venture with SM Prime Holdings Inc. for a 300-hectare and 60-hectare projects; and, the Pasay Harbor City consortium-Pasay LGU's 265-hectare Pasay Harbor City project.

The MOA, signed by Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada and Pasay City Mayor Antonino Calixto, states that the parties agree to exert “utmost effort to cooperate with each other and extend mutual assistance in connection with their separate partnerships with private groups to reclaim huge swathes of the Manila Bay, to generate valuable coastal real estate as well as provide employment and other economic opportunities in the two premier coastal cities in Metro Manila.”

Año, however, was adamant that reclamation projects in Manila Bay won't necessarily proceed just because one or two local government units said so.

“Kahit pumayag ang LGU, the common good should prevail, not the interest of one of two LGUs. It should be about the interest of the country. This is not just about cleanliness. This is also about solving our flooding problem,” Año said.

“Marami pa namang lugar sa Pilipinas na puede silang mag-invest. Ganun lang 'yun. We are going to review these projects. Wala pa naman nasimulan diyan, pero 'pag nakita natin na this is contrary to our objective to clean up Manila Bay, we will recommend the stoppage or discontinuance of these projects,” Año added.—LDF, GMA News