It’s been a year since President Marcos had ordered the suspension pending review of the 22 reclamation projects in Manila Bay which have been blamed for the massive flooding after a heavy typhoon dumped heavy rain.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, in a senate committee hearing on Aug. 1 said the results of the studies will be out in September.
Meanwhile, the famous Manila Bay sunsets continue to enthrall people as it splashes its magnificent colors across the sky over a vast tract of reclaimed land, and the sea pushed back far away.
The seascape changes
It started with a few ships moored in Manila Bay, which gradually increased in number, it appeared like a seascape with black rectangular patterns. No one raised a question because then, in 2020, the country — as was the whole world — was gripped with fear over a virus that quickly spread, bringing death to thousands each day.
By mid-March, the country stood still after the lockdown restricted movements. The Covid pandemic had started, and everyone, except those who were essential workers, stayed home.
Three years later, restrictions were lifted, and people went back to their lives before the pandemic. That’s when people began to notice that the sea of Manila Bay had been pushed out further into the ocean. A vast open land that looked like a desolate beach appeared. Along a strip of buildings which once offered the famous Manila Bay sunset as a major attraction stood a wall of sand so high from the ground, it kept away the view of the open field.
The people who come to watch the sunset now have to go to a higher level to view the spectacle of the sun and the clouds above the vast field of earth. Only the sky reflects the changing colors for there is no more sea to add shimmer to the landscape, except the spectacle of dozens of ships standing absolutely still.
Today, that is the sunset that the Manila Bay was once famous for. Hundreds of people still come to watch it, finding their places along Roxas Blvd., at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) complex, and anywhere along what was once the coastline of the cities of Pasay and Parañaque. The CCP Complex stands on land reclaimed in the late 70s.
A new bay appears
The centerstage of the spectacular sunset when the weather is clear — which is often -– is on Roxas Boulevard, from the Quirino Grandstand to the Philippine Navy headquarters. Today, there are two strips of land mass added to the panorama of the sea and the sky. They appear to create a bay area kilometers away from the coast, with an opening that will allow sea vessels to cruise in and out of the body of water that will likely look like a lake when development of the cities of the future will rise on the man-made cove. Reports have named property development companies that will develop that land into the cities of the future. It’s no secret, the illustrations are on Youtube.
The sunset is not the only issue that fuels the controversy over the expanse of the reclaimed land which the DENR secretary had defined as: “When you talk of Manila Bay, you refer to a huge area from Region IV-A, NCR (National Capital Region) and Region III.”
Reclamation blamed for floods
The more serious is the impact of the reclamation projects on the people and the environment. On July 24, 2024, Typhoon Carina enhanced by the monsoon dumped extraordinary amounts of rain that flooded Metro Manila and towns in neighboring provinces, causing the agricultural sector ₱3.04 billion in damages, killing 39 people, and displacing thousands of people who had to be evacuated to safer areas.
That again sparked outrage against the Manila Bay reclamation projects which has been blamed as the cause of the floods. Senators Juan Miguel F. Zubiri and Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva have blamed the reclamation at Manila Bay for heavy flooding, especially in Manila, Pasay City, and Bulacan province.
In August 2023, President Marcos ordered the suspension of 22 reclamation projects in Manila Bay “pending a review of their compliance with environmental regulations.”
A year later, still no results
It’s been a year since that order.
On Aug. 1, 2024, DENR Secretary Yulo-Loygaza said the results of the study on the environmental impacts of reclamation projects at the Manila Bay are expected by September.
“We believe by September we will be able to complete even the three-dimensional visualization of these impacts of reclamation,” the Environment secretary said during a hearing of the Senate committee on probing the recent floods caused by Typhoon Carina and the southwest monsoon.
The study is being conducted by the DENR with the University of the Philippines’ Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI).
It was in this hearing where Secretary Yulo-Loyzaga was reported as saying: “In general, any change, geometrically, physically, in terms of infrastructure that’s introduced will change the way the bay behaves. Secondly, reclamation projects will slow down the flow of water and the change actually so far in our model runs, has been for the negative,” Yulo-Loyzaga said.
She said the water quality will also change, which will affect the implementation of the 2008 mandamus order of the Supreme Court for the rehabilitation and preservation of Manila Bay.
The DENR will particularly look into the economic, ecological, and social impacts of these particular projects.
Impact on the environment
The bottom line of the problem caused by the reclamation projects is its impact on the environment. Many studies have shown that land reclamation causes the disruption of ecosystems and loss of biodiversity. Marine habitats are permanently lost where land is reclaimed from the sea.
One of the loudest voices protesting the reclamation projects is international advocacy organization Oceana. They emphasized that Manila Bay continues to support life and livelihoods.
“Manila Bay is a life-sustaining ecosystem for many fishes, mangroves, and birds. Every day, millions of artisanal fisherfolk and coastal communities in Metro Manila and nearby provinces continue to derive livelihood and sustenance from the bay,” Oceana Vice President Gloria Estenzo Ramos said in their website.
“What threatens Manila Bay and all life it supports are the massive, destructive dump-and-fill activities which are causing irreversible damage to our marine and coastal ecosystems. Land reclamation is destroying the rich biodiversity of marine and coastal ecosystems in Manila Bay. These also endanger Metro Manila residents near Manila Bay’s coast as the projects add to the worsening hazards such as flooding, storm surges, land subsidence, and liquefaction,” she said.
Oceana said that as of Feb. 28, 2023, the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) listed 52 reclamation projects in the country, 22 projects located in Manila Bay, and 11 of these already underway.
Oceana’s post in its web page said: “The projects were approved even though Manila Bay has been identified as a Key Biodiversity Area by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and other groups. It is a rich sardine spawning ground as shown by the date from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (BFAR-NFRDI).”