Bay reclamation to worsen floods in Manila, provinces

Implementing the planned reclamation activities on Manila Bay would not only worsen flooding in Manila, but also inundate coastal villages in the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga and Cavite, a maritime law expert said on Tuesday.

Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and the Law of the Sea, also criticized the lack of an overall study on the impact of 22 reclamation projects on the bay’s ecosystem as well as the communities that rely on it for their livelihood.

“The environmental impact assessments are currently being done on a project basis, without considering the cumulative impact of these projects,” he said during a summit on the effects of reclamation works.

“These projects will create a dam-like effect which [will] impede the continuous flow of water to the bay,” Batongbacal said. “While the reclaimed areas themselves may not be flooded, inner parts of Manila and nearby low-lying provinces [will] surely be affected.”

In February, the Philippine Reclamation Authority, now under the Office of the President, said that 22 reclamation projects would cover around 22,000 hectares or about 11 percent of the bay.

DENR issues certificates

Despite questions about their environmental impact, Department of Environment and Natural Resources records showed that five projects had already been issued environmental compliance certificates, the Inquirer learned.

These are the 148-ha Manila Solar City, the 419-ha Horizon Manila, the 318-ha Manila Waterfront Project, the 360-ha Pasay City reclamation project, and the 265-ha Pasay Harbour reclamation project.

Flooding, however, would only be one of several problems arising from reclamation activities, Batongbacal said. Once the filling and dumping push through, the bay’s salinity and temperature will also change, along with the production of the waters that many coastal communities depend on for food and livelihood.

“With rivers in Bulacan and Pampanga draining to Manila Bay, certain species thrive in this balance of freshwater and saltwater,” he said. “Once the salinity and temperature change, production will surely be disrupted.”