SM, Parañaque execs grilled by foes of reclamation plan

MANILA, Philippines—Officials of SM Land Inc. (SMLI) and the Parañaque City government were put in the hot seat Tuesday during a public consultation on the property developer’s proposal for a 300-hectare reclamation project on Manila Bay.

Several environmental and civic organizations took the opportunity to air their opposition to the project and warn of its possible environmental and social consequences.

On Sept. 11 last year, SMLI submitted an “unsolicited proposal” for an additional 200-ha Manila Bay reclamation to Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez. In 2012, the previous city administration already approved an SMLI proposal to reclaim 100 ha of the bay within the city’s jurisdiction.

On Sept. 26, the city council issued a resolution authorizing Olivarez to enter into a joint venture agreement with SMLI for the reclamation.

The city government also received counterproposals from S&P Construction Technology Development Corp. and Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), both of which were invited to the public consultation set by the Public-Private Partnership Selection Committee (PPP-SC) led by city administrator Fernando Soriano.

At Tuesday’s session that lasted for three hours, civic groups remained unimpressed with the presentation made by SMLI senior assistant vice president Noel Sanchez, who described the project’s scope and enumerated its expected economic benefits.

According to Sanchez, the local government’s land share in the project will cover 36 ha, with an estimated value of P56.7 billion. The reclamation would create 2.1 million square meters of developable land, which in turn could raise additional real property taxes for Parañaque, he added.

He projected the rise of at least 200 new buildings, 3,600 new office tenants, 5,000 new commercial tenants and jobs for around 1.7 million people.

“The project will enable the city of Parañaque to put up its own fully master-planned, world-class tourism, entertainment, commercial and business district similar to the Mall of Asia complex located in Pasay City,” Sanchez stressed.

But Save Palanyag Movement president Garibaldi Leonardo countered: “For whose benefit is it, really? Is there a guarantee that economic growth will not take precedence over the safety of lives?”

Leonardo’s group, composed mainly of residents who came in black shirts, urged the city government to put the SMLI proposal in the back burner until comprehensive studies are made on the threats of ground subsidence, storm surges and liquefaction.

Joseph Carabeo of the Alliance for Stewardship and Authentic Progress said the city government should instead focus its attention on preserving the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat Eco-Tourism area, developing the livelihood of fisherfolk and other minority sectors, and promoting disaster preparedness in view of climate change.

“Reclamation is irreversible and causes serious and permanent damage to coastal ecosystems,” Carabeo said as he proposed a 10-year moratorium on reclamation projects.

But according to Ed Alabastro, SMLI’s environmental consultant, “a well-engineered reclamation is a coastal defense.” The proposed development, Alabastro maintained, would neither endanger the protected sanctuaries nor disturb local water systems.