Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga (Photo the website of the National Resilience Council)
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is monitoring the compliance of reclamation projects in Manila Bay, citing that the agency was looking into possible violations of a party involved in the reclamation activities.
Data from the Philippine Reclamation Authority shows that 22 reclamation projects were in Manila Bay with half of them already “underway” as of Feb. 28.
Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga told a Palace briefing that the DENR had been conducting a “cumulative impact assessment” of the various reclamation projects in Manila Bay.
“Globally, the practice whenever you have several projects in a single ecosystem, you need a cumulative impact assessment and so we are undertaking that,” she said.
“We are looking at compliance for those that have already begun working and also calling them in. So we are talking to those who already have started [their reclamation activities],” she added.
One violator
The DENR chief revealed that there were ongoing discussions “with at least one party” for possible violations.
She, however, refused to disclose the entity and its possible violations.“Since the release of the information is new, they will be called in for a technical conference to see whether they have an explanation for the observed potential noncompliance,” she said. “We are looking at each one of those specific conditions and seeing whether they complied.”
Various environmental and fisherfolk groups have called on President Marcos to “unconditionally revoke” all environmental compliance certificates for the Manila Bay reclamation projects.
In 2011, the Supreme Court ordered the DENR and several government agencies to help rehabilitate Manila Bay, through the writ of continuing mandamus.
“What we are concerned about is our task in terms of implementing that mandamus is actually going to be impeded by some of these developments,” Loyzaga admitted.