Fishermen’s group hits reclamation project

The militant fisher folk group Pamalakaya has thrown its support behind a court case that seeks to prevent the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) and other government agencies from pursuing the 635-hectare reclamation project beside the Las Piñas-Parañaque Coastal Lagoon.

In a statement, Pamalakaya national chairman Fernando Hicap said its members were behind the writ of kalikasan petition filed by former Las Piñas Representative Cynthia Villar with the Supreme Court against the Three Island Reclamation and Development Project, which was being undertaken by private firm AllTech Contractors Inc.

“It is one of [the] available legal remedies that can undo this major threat to people’s livelihood and environment,” he added.

The group expressed concern over the project’s adverse impact on fisher folk families living in Parañaque, Las Piñas and Bacoor, Cavite, whose main source of livelihood is fishing.

Hicap likewise encouraged other groups to monitor other reclamation developments the Aquino administration was pursuing. In all, the PRA reportedly has 50 other reclamation projects in the works, including the one near the Coastal Lagoon.

Villar’s opposition to the plan stems from fears that the project could bring flooding to Las Piñas, a thorny contention between her and her brother, Mayor Vergel Aguilar.