The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) was told to be more proactive on reclamation projects evaluation and improve its oversight on such undertakings to mitigate the risk of flooding.
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano said the DENR should take the lead in reviewing such reclamations, particularly in the Manila Bay, which is being blamed from intense flooding that has been hitting the Metro Manila area for years now.
He said the DENR must be more proactive in reviewing reclamation projects, noting that the current agency leading the evaluation— the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)— has no technical expertise on sustainability.
The two agencies were told to collaborate to “improve the oversight of reclamation projects and mitigate flooding risks.”
“We always put first the projects na economically and financially viable, then to follow na lang ‘yung environmental aspect… Pero hindi naman palaging nako-consider ang environmental aspect,” Cayetano said.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in August 2023 ordered the suspension of 22 reclamation projects in Manila Bay pending a “thorough review” by the DENR.
Last November, the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) announced that two projects will be allowed to continue after passing the DENR’s compliance review.
The two projects were the 265-hectare joint venture between Pasay City and Pasay Harbor Corp. called Pasay 265, and the 360-hectare Pasay 360 with SM Smart City Infrastructure and Development Corporation.
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