Villar seeks SC help vs. CA ruling favoring Manila Bay reclamation project

Sen. Cynthia Villar has once again brought to the Supreme Court her legal battle against the planned P14-billion Manila Bay reclamation project in Las Piñas and Parañaque cities.

On Thursday, Villar filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to review and reverse the Court of Appeals decision denying the “writ of kalikasan” issued against the controversial project.

In a petition for review on certiorari, Villar, wife of former and presidential candidate Manny Villar, said the appellate court has “committed grave and serious error” with its decision.

She asked the SC to render judgment in favor of the 315,849 residents of Las Piñas City and to declare “null and void” the implementation of the Alltech Coastal Bay Project for allegedly being violative of the constitutional right to a balanced and healthy ecology.

In April 2012, the Supreme Court, in response to a petition from Villar, issued a “writ of kalikasan” against the project and remanded the case to the Court of Appeals for hearing.

The CA Third Division, however, junked Villar's petition in May 2013, saying it failed to prove that the reclamation project would trigger massive environmental damage. Villar filed a motion for reconsideration on May 29.

ECC

In her latest petition, Villar called on the SC to direct the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources to cancel and revoke the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) issued to Alltech for the reclamation project.

She said the ECC was illegal and unlawful because the proponent did not prepare any environmental impact statement despite the fact that it is the appropriate Environmental Assessment (EIA) study.

Villar said the CA was wrong when it decided that Alltech Coastal Bay Project is a continuation of the PEA-AMARI Manila Coastal Bay project even when the latter has never entered actual operation phase, let alone seen actual implementation works.

She said the meeting that was conducted supposedly as public consultations fails to satisfy the express requirements of the law. She added meaningful and informed public consultations constitute an important bedrock of the environmental impact statement system.

“Public hearings are mandatory for the proposed reclamation projects. A detailed statement of existing project alternatives is mandatory and questions relating to financial and technical capabilities of proponent are relevant to the issue relating to its environmental performance,” she said.

Ecotourism area

Villar also said the reclamation project impinges on the viability and sustainability of Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA), known as the last bastion in Metro Manila.

The CA failed to make a distinction between flooding and flushing effects of reclamation and the environmental effects it shall wreck upon LPPCHEA, according to the senator.

LPPCHEA is a 175-hectare mangrove forest and marine habitat in Las Piñas and Parañaque that serves as sanctuary for dozens of bird species, including migratory birds from as far as Siberia. It is also a resting area for the globally threatened Philippine duck and Chinese egret.

LPPCHEA was recently included in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance, along with world-renowned Tubbataha Reefs National Marine Park and the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (Underground River), both found in the Philippines.

“The inclusion of LPPCHEA on the Ramsar List solidifies our stand to fight for it against planned reclamation projects. For an international treaty organization to recognize LPPCHEA’s global importance to biodiversity, proves that the area is indeed a critical habitat and needs special protection from threats, including reclamation,” Villar said.

The senator stressed the reclamation project shall cause environmental damage of such magnitude as to prejudice the health or property of residents the cities of Las Piñas and Parañaque.

She said that Alltech and its experts admitted that the reclamation project shall aggravate flooding in the concerned areas and their proposed mitigation measures to minimize the threat of aggravated flooding shall impede the ecological functions of LPPCHEA as this will require giving up 4.35 hectares of the area. — KBK, GMA News