Metro Manila, Philippines – Reclamation activities are changing Manila Bay – and it’s not for the better, based on interim results of the cumulative impact assessment of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Environment Secretary Toni Yulo-Loyzaga shared some initial findings during a Senate hearing, as lawmakers questioned whether the reclamation projects are a factor in the massive flooding in Metro Manila and nearby provinces during typhoons.
“The findings are that any physical change in the configuration of the embayment that is included in this area will change also the way the water and the pollutants as well as the other elements that are chemically present and biologically present in the bay – it will change the way this behaves,” Yulo-Loyzaga said.
“Reclamation projects will slow down the flow of water and the change actually so far in our model runs has been for the negative,” she added.
The environment chief said the reclamation also affects water quality without going into detail.
“With the model runs that we are actually undertaking there will be an ecological cost and an economic cost to introducing anything into Manila Bay,” Yulo-Loyzaga said.
The DENR began the assessment last year following President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr’s suspension of all 22 reclamation projects in Manila Bay. The assessment is still ongoing, Yulo-Loyzaga said, adding that a “complete visualization” may be reached in September.
