Reclamation project violates SC ruling on Manila Bay, fisher groups assert

MANILA, Philippines – The R-1 Expressway Extension Project being pushed by the government violates a Supreme Court order mandating the national government and concerned officials and agencies to restore Manila Bay to its clean and productive state, according to the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya). The alliance of fishing groups said the project would be a clear violation of the order because it would destroy the remaining corals and mangroves of Manila Bay. Worse, the project will evict thousands of fisherfolk and urban poor families and deprive them of their main source of livelihood. The project allows reclamation of 7,500 hectares of the submerged public property along the bay to give way to road construction. The resolution allowing the reclamation work was signed by Cavite Gov. Erineo Maliksi, Environment Secretary Joselito Atienza, Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) Chairman Ramon Revilla Sr., and Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane. "The 11-kilometer expressway project is a road to perdition and a highway to destruction," Fernando Hicap, Pamalakaya national chairman, said. "But for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and these officials, the R-1 undertaking is a multibillion peso finance campaign. And to effectively carry out this P8-billion fund sourcing, they are exploiting and prostituting the SC ruling on Manila Bay against the opposition." Hicap said the ruling did not mention anything about the right of the state to evict poor fisherfolk and urban poor families from their main source of livelihood and communities. Pamalakaya said the R-1 expressway extension project would displace 26,000 fisherfolk and urban poor families in the Cavite City and the coastal towns of Bacoor, Kawit, Binakayan, and Noveleta. Last year, around 1,000 fishing and urban poor families were demolished and relocated to Tanza. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) promised to give P 15,000 to each family whose house was demolished. "We have read and studied the SC decision on Manila Bay," Hicap said. "The high tribunal is mandating the government to clean up the bay of wastes, not to clean this fishing ground of fisher people. The fisherfolk are part of the Manila Bay’s ecological life and survival." He said a fisherfolk legal forum billed “Manila Bay By Day, Manila Bay By Night" would be staged on Feb. 16 at the Ibon Center in Quezon City to discuss the legal implications and effects of the December 2008 Supreme Court ruling. Leading the legal education among members of Pamalakaya in Manila Bay is lawyer Jobert Pahilga, executive trustee of Sentra Para Sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo (Sentra) and campaign advocacy officer of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL). Pamalakaya hopes that the forum can identify the legal actions to be taken against government officials involved in the "road to perdition." "Reclamation will hasten the death of Manila Bay which is currently under the Intensive Care Unit and in full environmental coma. That undertaking by design and by orientation, and by law is against the SC decision on Manila Bay," the militant group said. On Tuesday, some 50 protesters who staged a camp-out at the the R-1 reclamation were dispersed by a composite team of 300 policemen and security marshals. Though no one was arrested, scores of fisherfolk and residents belonging to Samahang Magdaragat ng Bacoor, Cavite, an affiliate of Pamalakaya, were hurt. Pamalakaya recalled that on June 21, 2007, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed Executive Order No. 629 directing the PRA to develop Sangley Point in Cavite City into a logistical hub with a modern seaport and an airport, citing the R-1 expressway extension project as an enabling component. Pamalakaya claimed that the R-1 extension project resulted in a diminished fish catch and the destruction of remaining corals and mangroves in Bacoor Bay. The same project is also being blamed for the flooding in Bacoor and nearby coastal towns. - GMANews.TV