All of the incidents happened in communities directly affected by the Bacoor Reclamation and Development Project, which spans 320-hectares along the Manila Bay coastline. The project is composed of two artificial islands, a road network, drainage system, containment structures, storm surge protection, and access ways.
By JUSTIN UMALI
Bulatlat.com
SANTA ROSA, Laguna – Almost 400 homes in a fisherfolk community in barangay Sineguelasan, Bacoor, Cavite went ablaze as super typhoon Rolly (international name: Goni) battered the province with 300 kph winds and rain.
The fire began at around 10 p.m. yesterday, Nov. 1, hours after most of the residents were evacuated as precaution for expected flooding. The fire reached fourth alarm before it was finally put out by firefighters at around 2 a.m. A total of 398 families and 1,641 individuals were affected.
Investigators are currently looking into the cause of the fire. Some residents, however, suspect foul play.
Eyewitness accounts claim that some residents spotted “at least three men holding torches” around the time of the fire. Fisherfolk organization Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) stated that “the same incident already happened in other coastal barangays in the town, where a big-ticket reclamation project is being pursued.”
Pamalakaya Southern Tagalog Spokesperson Ronnel Arambulo said, “We don’t buy the usual fire accident narrative anymore because it has been established that setting a community on fire is the easiest, most acceptable, and effective way to demolish an entire community to pave way for projects of development aggression.”
According to the group, Sineguelasan is only the latest in a series of attempts to displace the fisherfolk living and working in the coastal areas to make way for the city’s development projects.
On April 2017, 300 homes were burned to the ground in barangay Maliksi 3. Another fire in barangay Tabing Dagat occurred in January 2018, affecting 400 homes. Five months later, barangay Maliksi 1 also suffered from fire. In the same month, another fire erupted in barangay Maliksi 3, displacing 348 families. Last February, another fire broke out in barangay Talaba 2.
Last March, 500 families were displaced after a fire in Wawa Uno, barangay Zapote 5 razed their homes. Cavite was in total lockdown at the time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
All of the incidents happened in communities directly affected by the Bacoor Reclamation and Development Project, which spans 320-hectares along the Manila Bay coastline. The project is composed of two artificial islands, a road network, drainage system, containment structures, storm surge protection, and access ways.
When completed, the project will primarily be zoned for mixed residential and commercial use as part of the city’s “Green and Blue Network” initiative aimed at “attract[ing] economic development” in the city. The Bacoor reclamation project will also connect to other development projects in the area, including the planned LRT-1 extension to Niog station and the Manila-Cavite Expressway.
Besides the Bacoor Reclamation and Development Project, other development ventures have also resulted in harassment against fisherfolk and urban poor residents in the city’s coastal areas.
According to Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Cavite, more than 200 homes in Brgys. Talaba 2 and Maliksi 1 have been marked for demolition to make way for the Bacoor Diversion Road project, while residents in barangay Talaba 6 and Longos have been called to meetings and threatened with eviction to make way for the city’s Riverside Easement Project.
The reclamation project, alongside other development initiatives, falls within the scope of the Bacoor City Government’s Comprehensive Land and Sea Use/Development Plan. Bacoor City Mayor Lani Mercado-Revilla has repeatedly defended the reclamation despite protests from residents and people’s organizations.
“The interests of local political clan in Cavite and private businesses prevail over the interest of thousands of fisherfolk and coastal residents who stand affected by this destructive reclamation project,” said Pamalakaya National Chairperson Fernando Hicap.
Hicap also appealed to Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla to “secure the affected residents and ensure that they would be able to return to their communities.”
“There should be no relocations for the victims of the fire,” he added. “It has been a long-standing tactic of the local government [to use relocations as a way] to expedite the eviction of fisherfolk affected by the reclamation.”
Pamalakaya and other groups are currently planning on conducting relief operations to assist the families affected by both the fire and successive typhoons. Relief organization Serve the People Corps Cavite is currently accepting cash and in-kind donations. Interested donors may contact them through Facebook page or through their hotline at 0909-496-4003. 
