Aside from the impact of reclamation, groups also decried the damages the recent oil spill inflicted on the environment and the lives of the coastal communities, saying that both Marcos Jr. and tycoon Ramon Ang should be held accountable.
It is projected that almost 46,000 fisherfolk will be affected by the oil spill if left uncontrolled, particularly in the National Capital Region (NCR), Central Luzon, and Region 4-A. Currently, Pambansang Lakas ng Mamamalakaya (PAMALAKAYA) reported that 29,000 fisherfolk from Cavite alone, were at risk, while 9,000 fisherfolk in Bataan.
By KELVIN S. RODOLFO, PhD* Note: Over two months have passed since the verbal announcement of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on the suspension of reclamation activities in Manila Bay. However, no clear guidelines have been released yet. Reclamation activities such as seabed quarrying continue in Manila Bay. Bulatlat.com What can be done with these atrocities…
Once the aerotropolis is built, the hazards of the storm surfaces and high tide would be more pronounced – especially since we’re in the Philippines, a country hit by tens of typhoons a year. And this will only get worse as storms get more violent and sea levels rise due to climate change – and in fact, destroying mangrove trees release tons of carbon dioxide due stored in their soils.
“With the law, the Chinese Coast guard are being ordered by Chinese government to shoot at vessels, even small fishing boat, in territories being claimed by China.”
“San Miguel’s P1-billion rehab is highly suspicious because it comes alongside its push for its Aerotropolis and Expressway-Dike reclamation projects across Northern Manila Bay.” — KAlikasan PNE
“If anyone had rights over the Manila Bay, it is the Filipino people, and if it is to serve any purpose, it should be for the benefit of the general population, and not an elite few.”
What is common in the stories of the residents in various coastal sitios of Bulacan is that the “news” about their impending displacement is coming to them in trickles of information packaged in a threat.
While the government is riding on the popular call for cleanup of Manila Bay, harnessing free labor of volunteers for fishing out thrash in Manila Bay, it is, on the other hand, disproportionately blaming the poor and seeking their demolition in favor of reclamation plans and other real estate development.
That P735.6-billion reclamation budget from SMC seemed to have been enough for NEDA to ignore the thousands of people to be displaced and the ecologically critical vegetation to be damaged.
Its impact is long-term – once tons upon tons of soil are dumped into the sea, the loss of marine life and ecological balance cannot be immediately replaced – and the resultant flooding through water level rise cannot be immediately addressed.