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WHEN the Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga was tapped to lead the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Filipinos were under the impression that her stint would make a difference in view of wanton disregard of laws covering nature and ecology.
After all, her credentials seemed far more impressive than her predecessors.
In fairness, she did well during her early stint – hoisting red flags on a dubious contract entered into by the DENR with a construction company lording over a 2,700-hectare portion of the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape, and that of the commercialization of the Chocolate Hills in Bohol.
She likewise flagged down the massive reclamation in the guise of “land developments” at the Manila Bay, only to cave in to pressures coming from the same breed of oligarchs and patrons in the government.
Yulo-Loyzaga recommended a halt to reclamation on a handful of conglomerates – except for two projects in Pasay City – a decision which looks more like a selective policy.
RECLAMATION ACTIVITIES ON HOLD
Barely two years after recommending the suspension of “all reclamation activities” at the Manila Bay, Yulo-Loyzaga hinted at the completion of the cumulative impact assessment by the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute and the Marine Environment and Resources Foundation (MERF), which cited adverse effects of reclaiming parts of the Manila Bay.
Yulo-Loyzaga said that without flood management plans, the government cannot move forward with land reclamation projects in Manila Bay, even as she now claims its continuity would adversely affect the environment in view of the absence of a viable flood management plan.
She likewise cited other concerns which include traffic, water and electricity supply, waste management, and the livelihood of fishermen in the area.
Spanning almost 2,000 square kilometers, the Manila Bay area covers Metro Manila and eight provinces. Four of these are located along the coast — Bataan, Bulacan, Cavite, and Pampanga.
Laguna, Nueva Ecija, Rizal, and Tarlac are connected to the bay through the several river systems that drain into it, like the Pampanga River (from Nueva Ecija), Pasig River (from Rizal), and Zapote River (from Laguna).
IRREVERSIBLE IMPACT
According to the study commissioned by the DENR in 2023 after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. suspended reclamation projects, Manila Bay’s physical environment is crucial to the circulation and drainage of water in Metro Manila.
Interestingly, Yulo-Loyzaga has yet submitted a recommendation asking the President to permanently stop the Pasay City reclamation projects which compromise food security, violate our constitutional rights to a healthy, balanced, safe and resilient environment and the rights of artisanal fisherfolks and coastal communities to access their fishing grounds and livelihoods.
The government should immediately take measures to permanently stop these projects which have been inflicting irreversible impact to the environment. The DENR’s failure to undertake its mandate is simply unjust and unacceptable.
Aside from the Manila Bay, there are 52 other reclamation ongoing projects in the country, including the project in Coron that has been forfeited by the government. Of this number, 22 projects are located in Manila Bay, and half of these or 11 are already underway. Outside of Manila Bay, the PRA lists a total of 30 projects – 14 were approved plus Coron; and 15 applications under Executive Order 74 with memoranda of understanding.
The projects were approved despite the fact that Manila Bay has been identified as a Key Biodiversity Area by the DENR and other groups. It is a rich sardine spawning ground as shown by the data from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (BFAR-NFRDI). It also serves as an important habitat for millions of migratory birds from the northern hemisphere.