Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile disclosed in a recent media interview that there was “pressure” from certain quarters on President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. amid his decision to suspend all Manila Bay reclamation projects so that these may be thoroughly reviewed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

It may be well to recall the history and evolution of laws, rules and regulations – and the governance structure – pertaining to land reclamation in the country in order to gain vital perspectives on how government policy has evolved in response to the changing times.

The Public Estates Authority (PEA) was created on Feb. 4, 1977, by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1084 issued by President Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr. to implement State policy “to provide for a coordinated, economical and efficient reclamation of lands, and the administration and operation of lands belonging to, managed and/or operated by the government, with the object of maximizing their utilization and hastening their development consistent with the public interest.” Executive Order No. 525, series of 1979, designated the PEA to integrate, direct, and coordinate all reclamation projects, subject to the President’s approval.

It was not until 2006 that the regulatory set-up was modified. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Executive Order No. 380-A that renamed the PEA as the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) and delegated to its governing board the President’s approval of reclamation projects, “subject to compliance with all existing laws and rules, and subject further to the condition that reclamation contracts to be executed with any person or entity shall undergo public bidding.”  Then In 2009, President Macapagal-Arroyo issued EO No. 798 transferring the PRA from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to the DENR.

This indicates a shift in emphasis on reclamation from being an engineering and construction activity to one that involves environmental significance and impact. It must be pointed out, however, that the Environment Impact Statement (EIS) regulation was established through PD 1586 issued in 1978, or 28 years earlier.

In 2013, President Benigno S. Aquino III, through Executive Order No. 146, transferred the delegated power to approve reclamation projects from the PRA to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board, “while allowing the PRA to continue processing, evaluating and recommending approval of all reclamation projects.”

The NEDA Board is chaired by the President and composed of 10 Cabinet members including the Executive Secretary, the secretaries of Economic Planning, Finance, Trade and Industry, Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources, Public Works and Highways, Budget and Management, Labor and Employment and Local Government.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte issued Executive Order No. 74 dated Feb. 1, 2019 transferring supervision over the PRA from the NEDA Board to the Office of the President (OP) and delegated, too, to the PRA Governing Board the President’s power to approve reclamation projects. Hence, the locus of decision making was transferred from the Cabinet’s economic cluster to the Office of the President.

Environmental impact assessment and issuance of environmental compliance clearances are the processes at the heart of the governance and legal structure. The citizenry awaits the DENR’s report on the 20-plus reclamation projects whose implementation has been suspended by order of the President.