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Villar grills ex-EMB head on issuance of ECC for reclamation in Manila Bay: Sen. Cynthia Villar grills former director of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) William Cuñado and other officials of the DENR and the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) on the issuance of the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) which allowed the on-going reclamation projects in Manila Bay. “I thought Manila Bay is owned by the people of the Philippines. Who is the proponent of this?” Villar asked Tuesday, October 24, 2023, during a public hearing she presided as chairperson of the Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change. Villar was informed that the Pasay City government had requested for the reclamation projects in Manila Bay. Villar, who hails from Las Piñas, also asked Cuñado to explain why he issued an ECC on a protected area, the Las Pinas-Paranaque Wetland Park. She said the ECC would affect the outlet of four rivers, namely the Las Piñas River, the Parañaque River, the Zapote River and the Molino River of Bacoor. Villar said reclamation of the area would flood the city of Las Piñas between six to eight meters. "Do you know that the Las Pinas-Paranaque Wetland Park is the biggest spawning ground of fishes in Manila Bay? If you reclaim the park, the mangroves will be killed off. No more spawning ground for fishes in Manila Bay. We planted the mangrove in the 1990s so it can protect Las Pinas-Paranaque from typhoon surges,” Villar said. (Voltaire Domingo/Senate PRIB)