Duterte rejects Manila Bay reclamation projects

President Duterte said he is unlikely to approve any proposed reclamation project in Manila Bay as he expressed concern over its effect on the environment.

Duterte made the statement after the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) said last month that at least four reclamation projects in Manila Bay were already given the green light.

PRA general manager Joselito Gonzales said last month that the projects are the Navotas City Coastal Bay Reclamation Project, Pasay 360-Hectare Reclamation Project, Pasay 265-Hectare Reclamation Project, and the Horizon Manila 418-Reclamation Project.

In an interview with ABS-CBN, Duterte said it would have been fine if the projects were just investments to infuse money into the economy but added that reclaiming 10,000 hectares of the Manila Bay was almost “mind-boggling.”

“That entire, how many? Ten thousand hectares? It would be, surely, for habitation. There might be some offices or some residences there,” he said in the interview aired over DZMM Monday.

“But you have to make an audit now of whether or not the environment of the entire area there can absorb the waste and where would it go after being treated. Because now, you must have water treatment. If you have a new building, make sure you are connected to [a] water treatment facility,” he added.

Duterte said he was not ready to approve any reclamation project if there was no concrete plan showing how the environment would be protected.

“That big [of an area] is stupefying. Mukhang, I am not ready for that. I am not ready even to say I will grant it. Not in my time,” he said.

“As long as there is no guarantee that the environment will be protected and the health of the people also safeguarded,” he added.

Environmental group Climate Reality Project earlier warned the government that dumping soil into the Manila Bay would displace thousands of residents, cause flooding, and harm its biodiversity.