Reminiscent of the massive floods caused by Typhoon Ondoy in 2009, the damage inflicted by Typhoon Carina has raised anew serious concerns about the dangers posed by chronic flooding in Metro Manila.
Several senators assailed the Manila Bay reclamation projects that had been ongoing in the vicinity of their offices until these were suspended in August 2023, after President Marcos directed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to assess its environmental and social impacts.
Three months later – in November 2023 – the DENR gave the green light to two reclamation projects in Pasay City that were deemed compliant with government regulations. Today, or nearly a year later, the DENR has not yet reported on the findings of its study.
Before public concern was focused on flooding caused by reclamation projects, a Multistakeholder Experts Dialogue on Reclamation was organized by the DENR in July 2023. Technical experts from the United States, Japan, United Arab Emirates, and Singapore shared global best practices, while academicians, government officials and private sector representatives discussed processes and issues on reclamation in the Philippines.
In her keynote speech at this forum, DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said that the legal and regulatory context of reclamation activities “must also be paramount in consideration” aside from the environmental aspects. She declared: “Reclamation decisions must consider interactions between land, air and sea—and the multitude of environmental factors from physics and chemistry of water, biodiversity, and the demand for sources of food, power and water.”
She also called attention to the Supreme Court’s mandamus ruling in 2008 that directed 13 government agencies led by the DENR to “clean up, rehabilitate and preserve Manila Bay; and restore and maintain its waters to a level fit for commercial propagation of shellfish and milkfish, as well as for swimming, skin diving and other forms of recreation.” In its latest post on the Manila Bay Clean-Up Program, the DENR listed 17 river systems in Metro Manila and nearby provinces that drain into Manila Bay.
How has the government fared in heeding the Supreme Court’s order?
The current floods bring to light the government’s spotty record of compliance.
The Metro Manila Flood Management Master Plan was adopted by the NEDA in 2012, with financial and technical support from the World Bank. After nearly a decade of delays, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) decided in 2021 to forego the implementation of the Upper Marikina Dam project, opting to piggyback instead on the construction of a similar facility in the nearby Wawa Dam which is only 250 meters away. According to the private sector proponent of the Wawa Dam project, it is “on track to begin commercial operations by the end of 2025.”
The MMDA has focused on the operation of pumping stations and the declogging of waterways. In terms of the latter program, San Miguel Corporation’s clean river advocacy has produced exemplary results. Since inception in 2020, more than six million metric tons of silt and solid waste have been removed from heavily-polluted river systems, including the Pasig River, Tullahan River, and San Juan River, as well as rivers that traverse the cities and towns of Meycauayan, Obando, Bulakan, Bocaue, Marilao, Balagtas and Guiguinto in Bulacan.
Almost a year after President Marcos’ order on the review of the reclamation projects in Manila Bay, it is imperative that the DENR come up with its findings and recommend appropriate actions so that the public welfare will be better served.