Economic boost

Two Las Piñas City councilors have asked the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to finally give the green light to the much-delayed P103.8-billion Las Piñas-Parañaque Coastal Bay Reclamation Project.

- MARY ANN LL. REYES

Councilor Mark Anthony Santos said that the clearance to proceed with the project remained unissued despite an en banc decision by the Supreme Court in October 2021 that approved the reclamation of around 530 hectares of the Manila Bay coastline in Las Piñas-Parañaque.

Voting 11-2 in favor of the reclamation project, the High Court said that the supposed threat to the environment was not sufficiently established and that the volumes of data generated by objective and expert analyses ruled out the scientific uncertainty of the nature and scope of the anticipated threat.

Alltech Contractors proposed the project to reclaim 321.26 hectares of land in Las Piñas and 174.88 hectares in Parañaque, both along the coastline of Manila Bay, way back in 2009 and the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) approved the project the following year subject to compliance with environmental rules.

According to news reports, Alltech submitted an amended environmental performance report management plan (EPRMP) in December 2010 and expanded the project to cover 203.43 hectares in Parañaque and 431.71 hectares in Las Piñas or a total of around 635 hectares.

The SC upheld a decision of the Court of Appeals that junked a petition for the issuance of a writ of kalikasan filed by Sen. Cynthia Villar.

The Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) issued the environmental compliance certificate (ECC) for the project in March 2011 after Alltech submitted scientific and expert studies that assessed the potential flooding and flushing impact from the coastal bay project.

Santos pointed out that the SC ruling suggested that the Las Piñas city government may proceed with the reclamation project despite residents' objections.