The Philippine government should not allow itself to be pressured by the United States over the ongoing reclamation project in Manila Bay.
“Una, walang pakialam ang America sa ating bansa. Porke ba blinaklist nila iba-black list na rin natin automatic? May ganung treaty ba tayo sa America (First, America does not care about our country. Just because they blacklisted other companies, we should automatically blacklist them also? Do we have such a treaty with America)?” Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero said during the Kapihan sa Senado forum on Thursday, August 3.
Escudero said he finds it inappropriate for the US to impose on the Philippine government just because they believe that the contractor in the said project was allegeldy involved in fraudulent practices.
“Kung involve sa fraudulent practices, saan? Saan? Saan ginawa? Sa America or dito (If they were involved in fraudulent practices, where? Where did they do that? Was it in America or here)?” he asked.
“May findings na ba ang Pinas or CIA ng America ang gumawa nun (Did the Philippine government had any findings or was it just raised by the US’ Central Intelligence Agency)?” he pointed out.
Asked if the government should verify the claims made by the US, Escudero rejected it.
“Ang reclamation sa Manila Bay is under the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). This is not the project of the government, this is a project by a private company. So what right does the government have to blacklist this project)?” he pointed out.
“My guard is also up with respect to any interference coming from other country,” he pointed out.
US Embassy spokesperson Kanishka Gangopadhyay on Monday, July 31 raised concerns about the potential negative impact in the environment of the ongoing Waterfront Manila Premier Development Inc.
The US embassy also said that the involvement of the China Communications Construction Company Ltd. on the project raises concerns as it is involved in the construction of military structures in the West Philippine Sea.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, in an interview, admitted that his father, William Gatchalian, is involved in the project, but defended that the project is above-board and went through the process.
“But I know for a fact na ang ganitong mga reclamation projects… lahat yan, dumaan ng proseso. Lahat yan, in-invite mga stakeholders, kasama local government units, nongovernment organizations, mga negosyante, and lahat ng embassy. Dumaan ng masusing consultation process (But I know for a fact that these reclamation projects... all of that, go through a process. All of that, invited stakeholders, including local government units (LGUs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), businessmen, and all embassies. They went through a thorough consultation process,” Gatchalian said.