Group urges DENR to revoke 21 ECCs issued for Manila Bay reclamation projects

A group of progressive fisherfolk has urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to revoke the 21 environmental compliance certificates (ECCs) it issued for the reclamation projects in Manila Bay.

In a statement, the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said Environment Secretary Ma. Antonia “Toni” Yulo-Loyzaga to “immediately and unconditionally revoke” the ECCs.

The group said the ECCs have been issued under Loyzaga’s predecessors.

“But if she allows these permits to proceed amid the legitimate environmental concerns raised by stakeholders, then it will make her accountable to the affected fisherfolk and the marine environment that her agency is mandated to protect,” Pamalakaya Chairperson Fernando Hicap said.

The 21 ECCs for reclamation projects in Manila Bay were disclosed by DENR officials during its budget briefing at the Senate on Tuesday, October 11

Senator Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, lambasted the DENR during a recent budget briefing for reclamation projects in Cavite that could cause severe flooding in Las Piñas City.

In response to Villar’s tirade, the Pamalakaya said that the DENR “had it coming, as it keeps on turning a blind eye” to the concerns previously raised by fishers, coastal residents, environmentalists, and scientists on the socio-economic and environmental costs of reclamation

“For the record, we sought DENR’s stand on this issue involving the environment for at least three times since Secretary Yulo-Loyzaga assumed her post. But we have yet to receive a categorical response from her. She has been ignoring our collective appeal against reclamation that threatens not only the marine environment, but also our livelihood and local fish supply,” said Hicap.

“We demand the DENR to revoke all the ECCs issued to every reclamation project in Manila Bay and across the Philippine waters, as it has been long proven by no less than the fisherfolk and marine experts that this profit-driven activity is a disaster to the environment and the people. Instead, the DENR should pursue a genuine rehabilitation of Manila Bay that will restore its marine biodiversity and fishery resources.”