There are only 13 reclamation projects in Manila Bay—PH Reclamation Authority
By Jel Santos
At A Glance
- (MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO\ALI VICOY)

An official of the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) on Monday, Aug. 14, clarified that there are only 13 reclamation projects in Manila Bay.
Earlier, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said there are 22 reclamation projects in Manila Bay.
In a television interview, PRA Assistant General Manager Joseph John M. Literal said there are 22 reclamation projects nationwide, not in Manila Bay alone.
“I would just like to clarify ‘yung (the) numbers kasi ‘yung (because the) 22 po on record, that’s the approved projects nationwide. In Manila Bay, 13 po lahat (all in all),” he said.
“We should have the same count [with the DENR] because we based our approval on the issued ECCs (Environmental Compliance Certificates) and area clearance; so our approved projects should also be the approved projects on the records of the DENR,” he added.
Reporters have already asked for the side of the DENR, but the agency has yet to comment on it.
According to Literal, all the 13 reclamation projects in Manila Bay were approved but “only three are being implemented right now.”
The other 10 projects, he said, are complying with the pre-construction documents and other permits from PRA and other government agencies.
“The pre-construction documents are the detailed plans and also the other… drainage and flooding plans that have to be studied also by PRA,” said the PRA official.
He said the 13 projects were approved between 2019 to 2021, while the other projects have been pre-approved in the 1990s.
Literal said the 13 projects in Manila Bay are concentrated in the National Capital Region and the nearest area of Cavite, covering 5,000 to 6,000 hectares of the harbor.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. has recently ordered to halt all reclamation projects in Manila Bay, except for one, as he claimed that it has already been reviewed.
On Aug. 10, DENR Secretary Maria Antonia “Toni” Yulo-Loyzaga clarified that all reclamation projects in Manila Bay are suspended pending review after a meeting with the chief executive.