A fishers’ group and environmental advocates asked the Supreme Court (SC) to stop the various reclamation and seabed quarrying projects along Manila Bay through a petition for a Writ of Kalikasan.
A Writ of Kalikasan is a legal remedy for the protection of a person’s right to a healthy environment as mandated by the Constitution.
The petition was filed on Wednesday, Dec. 11, by the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) and the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan).
Named respondents in the petition are the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA).
A copy of the petition was not immediately available.
A press briefer issued by the groups stated that they told the SC of the “distress that coastal communities have been experiencing amid the cumulative and long-term impacts of dredging and reclamation activities across Manila Bay.”
They said the “during 2019-2023 when Executive Order No. 74 was in effect or when holistic approach, cumulative impacts assessment, and reclamation development plans are required prior to issuance of Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC), Area Clearance (AC) and Notice to Proceed (NTP) in reclamation applications, the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) approved 13 of 25 applications for reclamation within Manila Bay , and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) issued ECCs and ACs for the said reclamation projects, as well as at least ten (10) seabed quarry permits for utilization of marine sediment in Manila Bay as construction materials for some of the approved reclamation projects—without first meeting the requirements of the law.”
They also said that the two government agencies “approved the reclamation and dredging projects despite their joint, cumulative, long-term, irreparable and irreversible adverse impacts to the environment, to the livelihood of 300,000 fisherfolks, and to the entire country in terms of food security and patrimony; and, despite non-compliance with the requirements and provisions of environmental aws and regulations.”
“Nagpasya na ang mga mangingisda at makakalikasan na itaas sa Korte Suprema ang aming hinaing laban sa mga mapaminsalang reklamasyon at dredging sa Manila Bay (The fisher folks and environment advocates decided to elevate the issues to the SC due to damages brought about by reclamation and quarrying projects along Manila Bay),” they added.
“Bagama’t kasalukuyang suspendido ang ilan sa mga nasabing proyekto, hindi kami mapapanatag hangga’t hindi tuluyang napapatigil ang mga ito lalo pa't malinaw na labag sa batas at nagdulot ng malawakang pagkasira sa kapaligiran at kabuhayan ng mga mangigisda. Dahil nga sa pinsalang dulot ng dredging at reklamasyon, iniinda pa rin ng maraming mangingisda sa Manila Bay ang 80%-90% na pagbagsak ng kanilang arawang kita mula pa 2019. (While some of the projects have been suspended, we will not stop until all the reclamation and quarrying projects are stopped completely because of the destruction of the environment and the loss of livelihood of those affected,” they added.
They told the SC they also filed the petition since they learned that the DENR would soon release its cumulative impact assessment of reclamation projects by the end of the year.
In 2008, the SC ordered the clean-up and rehabilitation of the Manila Bay, and to restore the waters for commercial propagation of shellfish and milkfish as well as for swimming, skin diving and other recreational activities.
Areas covered by the clean-up and rehabilitation are local government units in Metro Manila, Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga and Bataan.
The SC later issued a continuing mandamus that compelled the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), DENR, Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Health (DoH), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Budget and Management ((DBM), the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), the Philippine National Police Maritime Group, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to continuously implement the court’s directives.
The SC even formed the Manila Bay Advisory Committee (MBAC) to monitor and evaluate the reports submitted by the agencies tasked to implement its decision.