DENR greenlights Pasay reclamation projects

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources confirmed on Wednesday that it has allowed two Pasay City reclamation projects to continue — among the first reclamation activities to resume in Manila Bay since the president ordered a suspension in August.

The two reclamation projects — the 265-hectare Pasay Harbor City Reclamation Project and 360-hectare Pasay Reclamation Project — were allowed to resume after project proponents complied with the agency’s requirements, Environment Secretary Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said.

Yulo-Loyzaga said that there were “several technical conferences called” to discuss the agency’s observations, and in the end both projects “substantially complied.”

The DENR secretary clarified, however, that only the Philippine Reclamation Authority can lift the suspended status of the two projects as the agency can only "evaluate and assess compliance."

The DENR conducts a compliance review and a community impact assessment for reclamation projects.

“We do not suspend, we do not lift the suspension, that is a matter for the PRA,” Yulo-Loyzaga said.

The Pasay City government earlier announced that the refclamation projects have been deemed compliant with the requirements of the local government, the DENR and the PRA, respectively.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. suspended 22 reclamation projects in Manila Bay pending a review of their compliance with environmental regulations.

The two reclamation projects make up the Pasay City government’s plans to establish an “eco-friendly” and “modern commercial institutional and residential space.”

Fisher groups have warned against the impacts of reclamation projects on coastal ecosystems and communities, stressing the environmental and socio-economic costs of dump-and-fill activities are significant. — with reports by Gaea Katreena Cabico and The STAR / Nillicent Bautista