Chinese firm’s involvement in reclamation projects questioned at Senate

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday questioned why a Chinese company that may have built artificial islands in the West Philippine Sea was awarded reclamation contracts by the government.

Last month, the US Embassy expressed concern over the involvement of China Communications Construction Company in reclamation projects at Manila Bay, saying that the firm had been blacklisted in the US "for its role in helping the Chinese military construct and militarize artificial islands in the South China Sea."

According to Maki Pulido's report on "24 Oras," at the Senate hearing on Wednesday the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) said that the Chinese company had obtained clearance from several government agencies.

"Even before we allowed the operations of these contractors from China, we required these contractors  to secure a special permit under the rules of the MARINA. They submitted a clearance from the Coast Guard, from the MARINA, and also, during that time, an endorsement from the National Security Council," said PRA Assistant General Manager Joseph Literal.

GMA Integrated News is still trying to reach MARINA and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) for comment.

NSC Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya, for his part, said that it was the past leadership of the agency that gave the company the special permit, so the current officials could not speak to it.

"It was [National Security Advisor Eduardo] Año's predecessors who gave the special permit. NSA Año only assumed office last February of this year. Hence, we cannot answer the question," he said.

The PRA said that the project had been approved by the time the issue regarding the Chinese firm had been raised.

"During that time, actually, hindi naging issue unlike nitong, when they were already undertaking na nagkaroon ng issue, na-raise na po ito ng US Embassy and 'yung sa World Bank," said Literal.

Meanwhile, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) could still not say if it will recommend completely stopping the reclamation projects, as it will take a year to complete its environmental impact study.

An expert who is part of the core group of the impact study, however, stressed the importance of the coastal area, with 27% of the caught fish, or one-fourth of the country's food security, coming from coastal areas.

“Hindi lang coral reef ang pinoprotektahan, pati sea grass pati mangrove, e si sea grass pati mangrove ‘yun ang unang tinatamaan ng reclamation,” said UP-Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI) professor Laura David.

The scientists group AGHAM, meanwhile, told the senators that liquefaction—defined by Phivolcs as the phenomenon of "sediments, especially near bodies of water, [behaving] like liquid similar to a quicksand"—as a result of reclamation poses a risk if an earthquake occurs.

Flooding is also possible as reclamation could clog the natural outlet of rivers and waterways, it added.

"In every disaster movie, there's always a scientist at the beginning warning the people and the government of the effects, so hopefully, this is not a disaster movie that you're watching right now," said AGHAM representative Narod ECO. — BM, GMA Integrated News