Fishers urge release of Manila Bay environmental impact assessment

Photo by Kenneth Roland Guda

By DOMINIC GUTOMAN
Bulatlat.com

The “immediate release and full disclosure” of the cumulative impact assessment of Manila Bay could be instrumental in the termination of the ongoing reclamation projects and seabed quarrying activities across Manila Bay, according to a fishers group.

“What is taking the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) so long to conclude its study, when numerous experts and fishermen have long proven the harmful effects of reclamation on the environment and livelihoods?” Salvador France, secretary-general of Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya (PAMALAKAYA), said in Filipino during their protest action in front of the DENR.

In June 2023, DENR stressed the need for a cumulative impact assessment since there are several reclamation projects in a single ecosystem. In the past, these projects were evaluated individually, DENR Secretary Toni Yulo-Loyzaga said in a 2023 news briefing.

For the assessment to materialize, the DENR commissioned the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP MSI) in August 2023 to conduct a comprehensive study on the cumulative impacts of reclamation activities. Bulatlat wrote to the agency about the availability of the study, but the agency has yet to respond.

“We have great trust in UP MSI that they will not disappoint the fishermen and the environment. Above all, they will not allow themselves to be used as instruments to forward the exploitative projects of big businesses,” France added.

There are 22 reclamation projects in Manila Bay suspended by president Ferdinand Marcos Jr on August 7, 2023. Shortly after, two of them have been allowed to continue: the 265-hectare Pasay Harbor City Reclamation Project and the SM Prime Reclamation Project.

Their protest coincided with the upcoming 6th anniversary of the Manila Bay Rehabilitation Program of the government on January 27, which they dubbed as a “failure.”

The Manila Bay Rehabilitation Program in January 2019 is based on the Writ of Continuing Mandamus issued by the Supreme Court (SC) in December 2008. The writ ordered 13 government agencies including the DENR to lead the Manila Bay’s clean-up, rehabilitation, and preservation.

“The government’s rehabilitation program for Manila Bay has been ongoing for six years, yet there are still no significant results. Fisherfolk’s income remain low due to the depletion of fish and their habitats. The only cause of this is the destructive projects in Manila Bay, which the government has not truly put an end to,” France said.

PAMALAKAYA, together with environmental group Kalikasan and other advocates, also filed a petition for Writ of Kalikasan with the Supreme Court, urging the latter to void the 10 seabed quarry permits that DENR issued between 2019 to 2023. The approval of the permits allow the use of marine sediment in Manila Bay as construction materials for some of the approved reclamation projects.

The petitioners said that around 300,000 fisherfolks will be negatively affected by the reclamation projects. They added that the reclamation is one of the reasons for the widespread flooding in 2024 in cities surrounding Manila Bay.

In a peer-reviewed study, Kelvin Rodolfo, a professor and recipient of the 2022 Gawad Bayani ng Kalikasan award, emphasized that near-shore reclamation projects causes land subsidence. This phenomenon, which lowers the land surface closer to sea level, exacerbates flooding and tidal incursions by delaying rainwater runoff.

“The fisherfolk will continue to assert the genuine rehabilitation of Manila Bay, one that is focused on restoring its vitality as a fishing area and not for the benefit of big businesses,” France said. (RTS, DAA)

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