MANILA, Philippines – Tinitingnan ng Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) ang posibilidad na suspendihin o bawasan ang reclamation projects sa Manila Bay dahil sa kamakailang ulat sa posibleng environmental impact nito.
“This process can take some time,” sinabi ni Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga sa mga mamamahayag.
“So, what we are saying here is that the concern really would be to see whether we could basically maybe halt, minimize activities muna hanggang matapos itong cumulative impact assessment,” dagdag pa niya.
Sa ilalim ng Executive Order No. 74 na pinirmahan ni dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte, lahat ng proposal para sa reclamation projects ay susuriin ng Philippine Reclamation Authority “based on their cumulative impacts rather than on a specific project basis.”
Sa kabila nito, sinabi ni Loyzaga na hindi pa ito naisasagawa.
“What has happened here is that individual projects were somehow processed without taking into consideration the cumulative impact of all the projects together on the bay system, and this is absolutely critical for the future use,” anang opisyal.
Ayon pa sa kalihim, magsasagawa ng assessment ang team na pinamumunuan ng Filipino scientists sa tulong ng mga dayuhang eksperto.
“Until we can get a very good sense of what scientifically is going to happen in these areas and until we can get a very good sense of how the rule of law can be followed in this area, we want to proceed with much caution,” pagdidiin ni Loyzaga.
Matatandaan na nauna nang nagpahayag ng pangamba ang ilang grupo, at ang pinakahuli ay mismong United States embassy sa Manila – sa matinding epekto ng reclamation project sa kalikasan.
Nababahala rin ang US sa ugnayan sa proyekto kasama ang isang Chinese firm na siyang tumulong din sa pagtatayo at militarisasyon sa artificial islands sa pinag-aagawang South China Sea.
Dagdag pa rito ang sinabi ng World Bank at Asian Development Bank, na ang kompanya ay sinita na dahil sa umano’y “engaging in fraudulent business practices.” RNT/JGC
