A LOCAL fisherfolk group reiterated its call for the rehabilitation of Manila Bay under a framework that will genuinely restore the traditional use of the historic bay into a fishing ground, as well as its natural environment protected from privatization by big business firms via reclamation.
The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) expressed its support for House Resolution (HR) 2452 calling for the government to ensure important measures such as declaring Manila Bay as “reclamation-free zone.”
The HR also supports the holding of a public consultation among marginalized stakeholders, and drafting of a genuine and democratic program that will sincerely rehabilitate Manila Bay without violating the socio-economic rights of fisherfolk and coastal settlers.
“The problem with this rehabilitation drive of the government is we were not consulted what are the components of the campaign,” Pamalakaya national chairperson Fernando Hicap said.
He said that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources announced plans to relocate at least 300,000 Manila Bay residents without consulting the latter about it.
“We have been calling on past and present administrations to genuinely rehabilitate the deteriorating Manila Bay but our collective clamor seems to fall on deaf ears,” Hicap said.
“We are ever-ready to propose and initiate our own effective and sincerest way of rehabilitating Manila Bay as long as we are assured that no single fishing family or coastal settler will be demolished from their community,” he added.
The group expressed their doubt on the sincerity of the government to restore Manila Bay when it keeps on facilitating early process of reclamation projects, such as the “public scoping” to reclaim 420 hectares of municipal waters of Bacoor that was held last week, where local resident-fisherfolk registered their opposition.
“It can never be rehabilitation if profit-driven projects such as reclamation will be pushed afterwards,” Hicap said. (Ellalyn De Vera-Ruiz)
