Villar says ‘no’ to proposed Manila Bay reclamation project

Sen. Cynthia A. Villar warned yesterday that the proposed reclamation of Manila Bay as site for a new international airport will cause environmental disaster.

Villar, a known advocate of environmental protection, has asked the incoming Duterte administration not to pursue the reclamation project as she already filed a petition on March 16, 2012 asking the Supreme Court to issue a Writ of Kalikasan.

The Manila Bay reclamation project, according to Villar, will destroy the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Eco-Tourism Area (LPPCHEA).

Villar lamented that the airport project was being resurrected after the proposal of San Miguel Corporation (SMC) to build a new airport in Manila Bay did not push through in the current Aquino administration.

She made the appeal to the Presidentelect Rodrigo Duterte following published reports that Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez has urged President-elect Rodrigo Duterte to push through with the proposed $13-billion international airport in Manila Bay.

Under the plan, the proposed airport will make use of 157 hectares of Freedom Island.

Villar pointed out that contrary to the claim of Olivarez, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), proposed the Sangley Point in Cavite and beyond as a viable site of the airport and not Manila Bay in Parañaque city.

The lady senator also cited the 2002 ruling of the Supreme Court, which struck down the Public Estates Authority (PEA)-Amari deal as unconstitutional. The ruling stated that private companies cannot own reclaimed lands.

“I appeal to President-elect Duterte to look beyond the claim of decongesting existing airports and realize that the planned reclamation will cause flooding as high as eight meters in Parañaque, Las Piñas and Cavite. It will also deprive 300,000 fishermen of their livelihood,” Villar said.

“Attracting tourists and investors should not be proposed at the expense of the Constitutionally guaranteed rights of citizens for a safe and secure environment to live in,” she added.

LPPCHEA is a declared critical habitat and a protected area by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 1412 and 1412-A in 2007, she noted.

It is the first critical habitat to be declared in the country. Covering around 175 hectares of wetland ecosystem, LPPCHEA consists of two islands — Freedom Island and Long Island.

In March 2013, it was also listed as a Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention because of the critical role it plays in the survival of threatened and restricted-range bird species. It is the only wetland in Metro Manila and in an urban setting.

The five other Philippine sites in the list are: The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park in Palawan; the Tubbataha Reefs National Marine Park in Sulu; the Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary; the Naujan Lake National Park in Oriental Mindoro; and the Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary in Cebu.

LPPCHEA’s 35hectare mangrove forest is the thickest and most diverse within Manila Bay. There are at present 11 mangrove species growing in the area. It is the spawning ground of fishes in Manila Bay which gives livelihood to 300,000 poor fishermen and related livelihood.

It is also home and known breeding area of the Philippine Ducks, Chinese Egret and BlackWinged Stilts vulnerable species as listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources along with 82 other wild bird species coming from as far as China, Japan and Siberia. About 1,000 of the Black-Winged Stilts of only 100,000 existing in the whole world can be found in the area.

The Philippines being one of the signatories to the Ramsar Convention is mandated to protect the habitat.

“The reclamation of Manila Bay is dangerous as it can also be seen as a violation of Supreme Court’s continuing mandamus since 2008 directing the government to clean up Manila Bay,” Villar said.

Villar clarified that she is not opposed to the construction of a new international airport but stressed that the plan must be guided by the tenet that the life of the people is paramount over any growth and development.

She believes a new and modern airport would decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and improve its image as one of the world’s worst airports. She said that improving the airport in Clark could ease passenger traffic at the NAIA.