MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte should stop reclamation projects in Manila Bay, Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza said yesterday.
“The problem of pollution and flooding will worsen. This is what happened to Navotas and Malabon, which are flooded even when it does not rain,” he said.
Reclamation projects do not benefit residents, as what happened in Pasay City, Parañaque and Las Piñas, he said.
It is only the wealthy proponents of reclamation who benefit and become richer when the sea is reclaimed, he said.
Atienza urged government agencies and local government units to clean up Manila Bay, Laguna Lake and other waterways.
“Until now, the continuing mandamus issued by the Supreme Court to clean Manila Bay has not been implemented… This should be government’s priority and not any reclamation projects in the bay area,” he said.
He said cleaning waterways would contribute to economic development, citing the experience of highly urbanized cities such as Singapore and Hong Kong, which both cleaned up their water bodies before attaining economic progress and development.