Manila Bay reclamation projects' flood management plans flagged

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said Thursday that the cumulative impact assessment revealed flaws in the flood management plans for reclamation projects in Manila Bay.

Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said that the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute had already submitted its impact study on the reclamation activities.

"Ang findings po, maski anong gagawin po ng pagbabago sa physical environment ng ating Manila Bay, maapektuhan talaga—number one ang circulation ng tubig, that means not just in the bay itself kundi pati ang paglabas ng tubig galing po sa inland at pag-drainage po siya into the Manila Bay,” she said in an interview on PTV's Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon.

(In the findings, no matter what changes happen in Manila Bay’s physical environment, there will be effects. Number one would be the circulation of the water; that means not just in the bay itself but also the coming out of water from inland and the draining into the Manila Bay.)

''Ang nakikita po namin ngayon sa mga ilan, at majority actually ng mga sinubmit for development sa reclamation ay wala po silang integration into the flood management plan for the different LGUs—importante ho iyan,'' she added.

(We discovered that the majority of the reclamation initiatives are not integrated into the different LGUs' flood management plans. That is important.)

“We cannot move forward kung alam po natin na mai-stuck po yung tubig paglabas or paglagos from our rivers, from inland dito sa harap ng Manila Bay.''

(We cannot move forward if we know that the water from our rivers and inland will be stuck in front of Manila Bay.)

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in August 2023 ordered the suspension of Manila Bay reclamation projects over impact concerns.

The Philippine Reclamation Authority in 2023 said that there were 13 reclamation projects approved in Manila Bay.

It added that the projects are concentrated within the National Capital Region and some areas of Cavite and would cover 5,000 hectares to 6,000 hectares of the harbor.

Yulo-Loyzaga said that other concerns based on the findings were the lack of plans for traffic management and solid waste management. She added that the developers have yet to determine where to get their source of water and electricity.

“Ang isa po is traffic management, kasi palabas, papasok, saan po sila magko-konekta? The other one, saan po kukuha ng tubig ang mga ito? Saan kukuha ng kuryente? Papaano yung solid waste management plans po? So talagang ini-study namin ngayon dahil hindi namin mahanap-hanap sa mga sinumbit,” she said.

(The other problem is traffic management, because where will they connect? The other one, where will they get their water? Where will they get the electricity? What about their solid waste management plans? So we are really studying it now because we couldn't find any of those in the submissions.)

The DENR also said that the reclamation activities will also affect the livelihood of residents near Manila Bay.

“So we need to actually understand na buhay ang Manila Bay, so may nangyayaring fisheries talaga po doon. So may mga madi-displace po at kailangan po ay may sagot rin ang mga developer at mga LGU na partner nila kung papaano nila pangangalagaan ang kapakanan ng mga communities na talagang hanapbuhay ay nandyaan,” she said.

(So we need to actually understand that there is marine life in Manila Bay, so there are fisheries there. So the projects will displace some people, and the developers and their partner LGUs should come up with a plan on the welfare of the nearby communities whose livelihood depends on Manila Bay.) — Vince Angelo Ferreras/VBL, GMA Integrated News