Mla Bay reclamation projects’ review taking too long, says fishers’ group

Fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) holds a protest in Quezon city during the World Fisheries Day on November 21, 2023. (Photo from Pamalakaya)

MANILA, Philippines – The conduct of assessments of Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on reclamation projects in Manila Bay is taking a long time to finish, a group of fisherfolks said.

DENR announced on Thursday that its assessments would be completed in a year.

The department had also said it has started the compliance review for three ongoing reclamation sites in the area.

DENR added an initial report of the assessments will be done in six months.

But for the activist fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), DENR is “taking too long.”

The group urged the deparment to hasten its schedule and questioned its timeline, considering the availability of data from previous studies.

“There is an urgent need to totally stop every single reclamation project in Manila Bay and immediately carry out a complete rehabilitation and restoration of its degraded ecosystems,” the group said in a statement.

“Why is the DENR taking too long to conduct its cumulative impact assessment on reclamation when there are already available studies and evidence of its irreversible damages?” it asked.

In August, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. issued an order to halt reclamation activities in Manila Bay.

But despite this, Pamalakaya stressed that dredging activities intended for reclamation continue in the area.