By MARIO B. CASAYURAN
Sen. Cynthia A. Villar asserted that the reclamation project being pushed by the Paranaque City government would cause flooding in Cavite, Paranaque, and Las Pinas City and would be detrimental to the viability of the Las Pinas-Paranaque Wetland Park.
Villar, chairperson of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, issued this statement in response to the public hearings being called on Oct. 1 and 2 for the creation of a 287-hectare artificial island along the coast of Manila Bay in the territorial jurisdiction of Paranaque.
“The Paranaque Reclamation Project will be building on the buffer zone of the Las Pinas-Paranaque Wetland Park. This should not be allowed to proceed because it will hamper the free flow of water which is critical to the survival of the wetland ecosystem,” Villar said.
In addition, it will destroy 35 hectares of mangrove forest which is the spawning ground of fish supporting the livelihood of 300,000 fisherfolk in Manila Bay.
Villar disputed project proponent and Paranaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez’s claim that the flooding would be prevented by the Imus catchment basin, saying that the infrastructure was constructed for the existing problem in Cavite brought about by the Cavite Expressway.
She said the Paranaque reclamation project was not considered when this was planned.
“According to former DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) Secretary (Rogelio) Singson, the Cavitex Expressway is supposed to be a viaduct according to plan but instead, they reclaimed Manila Bay and constructed the expressway on top of the reclaimed road which causes so much flooding in Imus, Bacoor, and other places in Cavite.
“To address this, DPWH built the Imus catchment basin. This project is not intended to solve flooding in Paranaque and Las Pinas,” Villar said.
