PRA quizzed on nat’l reclamation plan

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) received a mouthful of reminders from the Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GCG) during a recent inquiry conducted by the Senate committee on government corporations and public enterprises chaired by Sen. Cynthia Villar.

The PRA has been the subject of public scrutiny for its national reclamation plan, which includes over 100 reclamation projects covering 38,000 hectares.

“The only impetus that drives the PRA in pushing for reclamation is apparently huge potential investment as PRA seems to rely heavily on this and not on the exercise of promoting public interest. Is huge potential investment a concern or area of expertise of PRA?” Villar asked during the Senate inquiry.

While Jose Gonzales, PRA assistant general manager for legal and administrative services, said in the Senate hearing that the national reclamation plan is “nothing more than a blueprint and not an implementation plan,” the agency’s five-stage process in identifying reclamation projects supposedly does not take into consideration national interest and lacks public consultation.

“It is the obligation of the PRA (as a regulatory body) to actually define a national reclamation plan, more than just a blueprint… to actually provide the country with a plan that takes all national interests into consideration,” said GCG chairman Cesar Villanueva.

Villanueva added that what is needed is a “true development plan” that does not only take into account the technical or economic feasibility of a reclamation project.