A scientific team that will conduct a community impact assessment on the reclamation projects in Manila Bay will be organized this month.
Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said there will be physical scientists, oceanographers, geologists, climate scientists, and social scientists on board.
"The scientific team that we are actually engaging will be organized by this month, as I've shared with you and we intend to provide a program of work once they have all met together," Loyzaga said in a Palace briefing on Thursday, Aug. 10.
The Secretary explained that the assessment will involve drivers, feedbacks, and different disciplines, stressing that it involves transdisciplinary work.
"Hindi lang po ito (This is not) simple because Community Impact Assessment involves drivers; it involves feedbacks; and it involves many different disciplines," she said.
"That means disciplines need to intersect. The results need to reflect the intersections between disciplines. And when you say transdisciplinary work, we learn from communities. We learn from experts in practice, we don't just learn from scientists who are professors," she added.
Loyzaga, however, did not set a timeline on the impact assessment, saying "we will know once the scientific team converges, and the work program will be laid out."
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) chief cited that the cumulative impact assessment is actually part of Executive Order (EO) 74, which, she said, is a "very critical EO."
She said it mandates certain actions to be taken regarding the formulation of a national and regional reclamation policy.
"That is what we are also wanting to do, and we also would like to review the whole governance procedure over these types of decisions moving forward," she further said.
A total of 22 reclamation projects in Manila Bay were suspended, pending review. This was declared by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. earlier this week.