Press Release
October 24, 2021

Villar to file MR on SC Ok for Manila Bay reclamation in Las Pinas, Paranaque

Senator Cynthia Villar yesterday said she will file a Motion for Reconsideration (MR) before the Supreme Court (SC) over its "go-signal" to reclaim the Manila Bay areas In Las Pinas and Paranaque as she urged the High Court to take a "different and fresh appreciation" of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) rules.

She has been asserting that any reclamation project in the areas would impede the flow of the six (6) rivers exiting in Manila Bay, which would cause massive flooding, namely:
1. Imus River in Imus City,
2. Bacoor River in Bacoor City
3. Molino River in Bacoor City
4. Zapote River between Bacoor and Las Piñas cities
5. Las Pinas River in Las Piñas City
6.Parañaque River in Paranaque City.

Infact, the damage in Imus River cause the filing of case by Atty. Antonio Oposa- Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Environmental Law, which resulted the issuance of Mandamus of Manila Bay by the Supreme Court.

As we mark the first year of the UN Decade for Ecological Restoration, the senator called on the court magistrates to revisit its ruling which favored Alltech Contractors proposed projects to develop hectares of land in Las Piñas and Parañaque, both along the coastline of Manila Bay, which has been given up and declared illegal and the ECC has expired.

"This and the Declaration by Congress of the existence of a Climate Crisis, and the two reports of the Nobel-Laureate group Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, have long since rendered any decisions of the DENR made in 2012 irrelevant," stressed Villar.

With due respect, Villar said the SC can also take judicial notice of the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (E NIPAS) Act or RA 11038 which was passed in 2018.

"This legislated the now renamed Las Piñas Parañaque Wetland Park (formerly LPPCHEA) into a protected area, said Villar, noting that this was included in the Ramsar Convention list of Wetlands of International Importance, in 2013. The legislated protected area, Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland is entitled to a buffer zone in Manila Bay which cannot be reclaimed.

She related that the DENR is also determining the extent of buffer zone needed for the conservation of the protected wetland park.

"The DENR's procedures on EIA should take into consideration all these 94 newly established Protected Areas (PAs)," said Villar, chairperson of the Senate Environmental committee.

"We have long imagined that the ecological services like the flood drainage mechanisms and the filtering capacity of the soil will be there forever. But without proper care, and paying the costs of that care, these services will dissipate. The EIA system must account for this degeneration," she added. . The SC recently affirmed a Court of Appeals (CA) decision denying the petition for a Writ of Kalikasan filed by Villar and 315,000 petitioners to stop a reclamation that is beside the said international important wetland.

According to Villar, the SC issued the decision eight years after the CA junked her petition to stop any reclamation project in the area.

She likewise emphasized the DENR's decision to allow the reclamation has long since been overtaken by multiple studies, many scientific and valuation findings, most of which were not in the case file.

"Worse, any environmental decision taken in an application for an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) only has a 5 year validity, considering the changes in the surrounding environment and new scientific findings that may happen," related the senator.

She also pointed out that the ECC of Alltech, despite this SC Decision, has long since expired, and the failure to start up the project was not caused by this case.

She also said if the Supreme Court says the DENR currently has sufficient technical capacity to make a determination in this case of all the factors that need to be taken into account, then why is our environment still on the decline.

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Villar, magsasampa ng MR sa pag OK sa Manila Bay reclamation sa Las Pinas, Paranaque

IPINAHAYAG kahapon ni Senator Cynthia Villar na magsasampa siya ng Motion for Reconsideration (MR) sa Supreme Court (SC) dahil sa pagbibigay nito ng "go-signal" na i-reclaim ang lugar ng Manila Bay sa Las Pinas at Paranaque kasabay ng apela sa High Court na magkaroon ng iba at "fresh appreciation" sa environmental impact assessment (EIA) rules.

Patuloy na pinaninindigan ni Villar na magdudulot ng malawakang pagbaha ang anumang reclamation project sa mga nasabing lugar dahil mahaharang nito ang daloy ng tubig mula sa anim ng mga ilog sa Manila Bay. Ang mga ito ay ang:
1. Imus River sa Imus City,
2.Bacoor River sa Bacoor City
3. Molino River sa Bacoor City
4. Zapote River na nasa Bacoor Las Piñas cities
5. Las Pinas River sa Las Piñas City at
6.Parañaque River sa Paranaque City.

Sa katunayan, ang pinsala sa Imus River ang naging sanhi ng kaso ni Atty. Antonio Oposa- ang Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Environmental Law. Dahil dito, nagpalabas ang SC ng Mandamus sa Manila Bay.

Sa pagkilala natin sa unang taon ng "UN Decade for Ecological Restoration," nanawagan ang senador sa court magistrates na muling bisitahin ang kanilang ruling na pabor sa panukalang proyekto ng Alltech Contractors na i-develop Ng ilang ektarya ng lupa sa Las Piñas at Parañaque na parehong nasa baybayin ng Manila Bay.

"This and the Declaration by Congress of the existence of a Climate Crisis, and the two reports of the Nobel-Laureate group Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, have long since rendered any decisions of the DENR made in 2012 irrelevant," giit ni Villar.

With due respect, sinabi ni Villar na maaari ring bigyan ng SC ng judicial notice ang Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (E NIPAS) Act o RA 11038 na nasaibagas noong 2018.

"This legislated the now renamed Las Piñas Parañaque Wetland Park (formerly LPPCHEA) into a protected area, said Villar, noting that this was included in the Ramsar Convention list of Wetlands of International Importance."

Sinabi rin niya na ikinokonsidera ng DENR ang lawak ng buffer zone na kailangan sa conservation.

"The DENR's procedures on EIA should take into consideration all these 94 newly established Protected Areas (PAs)," ayon kay Villar, chairperson ng Senate Environmental Committee."

"We have long imagined that the ecological services like the flood drainage mechanisms and the filtering capacity of the soil will be there forever. But without proper care, and paying the costs of that care, these services will dissipate. The EIA system must account for this degeneration," dagsag pa niya. . Kamakailan lamang, kinatigan ng SC ang Court of Appeals (CA) decision na nagbasudz sa petition para sa Writ of Kalikasan na inihain ni Villar at 315,000 petitioners upang ipatigil ang reclamation na kalapit ng international important wetland.

Ayon kay Villar, nag-isyu ang SC ng decision walong taon matapos ibasura ng eight years CA ang kanyang petition na ihinto ang anumang reclamation project sa lugar.

Binigyan diin din niya na ang desisyon ng DENR na payagan ang reclamation ay nasapawan na ng maraming pag-aaral, scientific at valuation findings na karamihan ay wala sa case file.

"Worse, any environmental decision taken in an application for an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) only has a 5 year validity, considering the changes in the surrounding environment and new scientific findings that may happen," sabi pa ng senator.

Sa kabila ng SC decision, sinabi rin niya na matagal nang repaso ang ECC of Alltech. Aniya, hindi rin dahilan ang kasong ito upang masimula ang proyekto.

"If the Supreme Court says the DENR currently has sufficient technical capacity to make a determination in this case of all the factors that need to be taken into account, then why is our environment still on the decline?" tanong pa ni Villar.

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