House probe sought into 8 fire incidents in areas set for reclamation

MANILA, Philippines — Makabayan bloc lawmakers at the House of Representatives have called for a probe into eight separate fire incidents in places that are known to overlap with large-scale reclamation and infrastructure projects. 

In filing House Resolution 1653 on Monday, the Makabayan bloc said that "circumstantial precedents" give weight to the possibility that recent fire incidents that gutted urban poor and coastal communities are "not by accident, but rather intentional," according to two progressive groups. 

Fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) and urban poor group Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (KADAMAY) in Cavite said that based on their experiences, "setting an area on fire is the easiest and most effective way to demolish an entire community with impending projects for corporate aggression," the resolution read.

The resolution identified eight different fire incidents from January to March that took place in various barangays in Imus, Bacoor City and Kawit, Cavite. 

The lawmakers pointed out that these areas are covered by two infrastructure projects -- the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway Project (MCTEX), which overlaps with five towns, and the 420-hectare reclamation project in Bacoor City.

The resolution said that the House committee on aquaculture and fisheries and the committee on nautral resources should investigate the series of fires and assess the extent to which it has affected the livelihood of fisherfolk who "continue to assert their rights to community, livelihood and a balanced and healthy ecology."

This is not the first time that fisherfolk communites in Cavite have raised doubts about whether fire incidents in their area may be connected to the planned infrastructure or reclamation projects there.

In 2020, Pamalakaya's regional chapter flagged a fire incident that spread through two barangays that displaced some 398 families in Bacoor City, Cavite. The group said that this was similar to three earlier incidents in 2017 and 2018 of fire blazing through communities sitting on areas being reclaimed by the local government. — Cristina Chi