MANILA, Philippines - Militant groups asked the Supreme Court (SC) yesterday to stop reclamation activities along the 190-kilometer stretch of the foreshore area of Manila Bay.
In a six-page manifestation, the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) and Anakpawis party-list said the ongoing reclamation and privatization projects in the area violate the order of the high court in December 2008 for the cleanup of Manila Bay.
The militant groups asked the high tribunal to clarify the scope, coverage, subject and extent of its decision to clean up Manila Bay and issue a definitive ruling on whether reclamation and privatization projects along its foreshore area should be allowed.
The groups noted that almost 20,000 hectares of Manila Bay have already been reclaimed in the last 30 to 40 years to give way to special economic zone projects in Bataan and Cavite. Part of the reclaimed areas are also being occupied by the Manila Film Center, Government Service Insurance System, Cultural Center of the Philippines and Folk Arts Theater, and the SM Mall of Asia and other commercial centers in Pasay City and Parañaque City.
Some 3,500 small fishermen and their families at the Pasay reclamation area and another 3,000 coastal and urban poor families along the coastal shores of Parañaque were displaced from 1992 to 1995, to give way to the reclamation projects, they added.
Pamalakaya and Anakpawis expressed concern over more reclamation projects, citing the move of the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) to reclaim 7,500 hectares of coastal waters off Manila Bay for the R-1 expressway extension project and the planned reclamation of another 5,000 hectares to expand the coverage of Sangley Point in Cavite City in preparation for the construction of international seaport and airport in the city.
The groups said the PRA also announced the reclamation of the 175-hectare mangrove forest and bird sanctuary in Las Piñas, which will entail the reclamation of 635 hectares of coastal shores adjacent to the coastal lagoon area.