📷: Small fisherfolk under Pamalakaya Navotas staged a picket protest today, July 23, in front of the Navotas City Hall to demand an immediate halt to the ongoing Navotas Coastal Bay Reclamation Project. The group cited the 650-hectare reclamation project by the local government and San Miguel Corporation as a major factor behind the worsening and prolonged flooding in the city. (PAMALAKAYA | FB)
ACT Teachers Party-list Representative Antonio Tinio called for an urgent congressional inquiry into the impact of reclamation projects on the worsening flooding in Metro Manila and adjacent provinces. Tinio seeks to investigate the severe flooding that devastated the region during Typhoon Crising and the recent southwest monsoon, which claimed lives, displaced thousands of people, and resulted in massive damage to agriculture and property.
Rep. Tinio emphasized the urgent need for accountability and science-based policy-making:
“The link between large-scale reclamation and heightened flooding risk is clear—these projects destroy our natural coastal defenses and disrupt the environment. We must hold to account those who prioritize profit over the safety and welfare of Metro Manila’s residents,” Tinio stated. “For years, billions have been poured into flood control, yet our people still wade through chest-deep waters. It’s time to ask: who really benefits from these reclamation deals, and at what cost to ordinary Filipinos?”
“Ang mga proyektong reklamasyon ay hindi lamang sumisira sa kalikasan, kundi direkta ring nagbabantang magpalala ng pagbaha sa Kamaynilaan at kalapit na mga probinsya. Tinatamaan dito ang mga maralita, mga guro, at mga estudyante na araw-araw ang sakripisyo para makapasok sa eskwela at trabaho,” Tinio added. “Hindi natin pwedeng hayaang magpatuloy ang ganitong kalakaran na ang kita ng iilan ay inuuna kaysa kaligtasan at kabuhayan ng nakararami.”
According to AGHAM – Advocates of Science and Technology for the People, reclamation fundamentally upsets natural ecosystems that have served as flood buffers for generations. Tinio also raised concern over the continued disregard of the Supreme Court’s 2008 Mandamus to rehabilitate Manila Bay and the threat posed to the livelihoods of thousands of fisherfolk and urban poor families.
“We cannot allow the destruction of our coastlines and the livelihoods of our fisherfolk and urban poor so that more casinos, malls, and condos can be built on reclaimed land to benefit big business and foreign investors. This investigation is long overdue. The people deserve answers and concrete action,” Tinio concluded. #
