The onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses inundated several towns in the province of Bulacan, including the municipality of Bulakan where the New Manila International Airport (NMIA) will be constructed. Environmental advocates fear that the impending construction of the NMIA will worsen the flooding and increase the area’s vulnerability to other geohazards, endangering the sustainability of the fisheries.
San Miguel Aerocity Inc., a subsidiary of San Miguel Holdings Corp. (SMC), is gearing up for the start of the construction of the NMIA this 2021. On December 20, 2020, San Miguel Aerocity Inc. (SMAI) was officially granted a 50-year franchise through Republic Act 11506. It gives SMAI the eligibility to construct, develop, establish, operate, and maintain the planned P736-billion domestic and international airport, as well as its adjacent airport city.
The law also provides for tax exemptions in the construction, development, establishment, and operation of the airport during the 10-year construction period. Until such time they have recovered the project’s investment cost, the SMAI will also be exempt from tax collection. Thereafter, the revenue-sharing with the government shall begin, providing the national government as much as 88 percent of the total airport earnings.
Major rail and road network projects will be incorporated into the NMIA and its adjacent Airport City. The development plan of the airport includes a proposed eight-kilometer airport toll road connecting the airport to the North Luzon Expressway to the South Luzon Expressway, 12 road expressway projects, and five railway transport modes, according to the aerotropolis's master plan obtained from AGHAM.
The airport aims to decongest the air traffic at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the rail, and road networks to make the airport easily accessible from Metro Manila and various points of Luzon.
The NMIA is only one of the 22 proposed and approved reclamation projects in Manila Bay. The imminent construction will reclaim more than 2,500 hectares of fishing and mangrove areas in Barangay Taliptip and Bambang.
For Fernando Hicap, national chairperson of Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA), a fisherfolk group, the construction of the NMIA in Bulacan and other reclamation projects in our coastal and fishing areas is a graver threat to mankind and the environment compared to other disasters.
“Iyong kalamidad kapag nakapaglagpas na iyan at nakapag-survive na tayo ay kaya nating i-rehabilitate. Mababalik natin sa dati iyong ating kabuhayan, iyong mga nasirang ari-arian ay maitatayo natin, pero itong planong aerotropolis diyan sa Bulacan at planong reklamasyon sa buong Pilipinas ay irreversible iyong epekto nito,” Hicap said in an interview with the Collegian.
Geohazard Risks
Earthquake, subsidence, flooding, and storm surge are the four major geohazards identified by AGHAM, a science advocacy organization, in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) the group conducted in the area.
The location of the airport is at risk for earthquakes since Manila Bay is surrounded by the Marikina Valley Fault System, the Lubao Fault in Pampanga, and the Manila Trench, which are potential earthquake generators. It is also at risk for subsidence, the sinking of the ground’s surface due to geologic or man-made activities, which is aggravated by excessive groundwater extraction.
The site where the airport will be constructed and its neighboring areas are low-lying, flood-prone towns. The rapid subsidence of coastal lands bordering the bay will worsen flooding and high tides, according to a 2014 study by Kelvin Rodolfo, a professor emeritus of earth and environmental sciences at the University of Illinois in Chicago, on the geological hazards that threaten existing and proposed reclamation projects in Manila Bay.
On top of rapid subsidence, the decimation of more than 600 mangroves will also worsen the flooding and storm surges in the area. Mangroves protect communities from floods through their root systems and their trunks and canopies which reduce the force of waves and storm surges.
As part of its supposed flood mitigation plan, ahead of the construction of the NMIA, the SMC has started a program to plant 190,000 mangroves in over 76 hectares of coastal areas of Central Luzon. During the first phase of the project, 25,000 mangrove seedlings were planted in 10 hectares in Hagonoy, one of the lowest-lying areas in Bulacan, last July 29.
Yet the 76-hectare mangrove planting program will not suffice for the destruction that the construction of the 2,500-hectare airport will bring. The cutting of mangroves has an instantaneous impact, but it will take decades for the program to take effect and to bring back the vitality of the mangroves lost, AGHAM Diliman Chairperson Jerwin Baure said.
The destruction of mangroves will also affect the sustainability of the fisheries sector. Mangrove forests serve as nursery areas for fishes, crabs, and shrimps. Reclamation will destroy the spawning areas and habitat of fish species, resulting in a drastic decrease of fish and fish products supply for Bulacan and Metro Manila consumers.
“Declining na iyong fish production natin pero patuloy pa rin iyong mga coastal development activities ng government. Hindi lang sa Manila Bay, kung hindi sa other parts din ng country,” said Baure. “Instead of doing reclamation, better pa rin na i-conserve iyong mga mangrove forests natin.”
Aside from mangrove forests, Baure emphasized that it is equally important to conserve other marine ecosystems such as coral reefs and seagrasses.
Questionable Approval
The transparency of the approval and implementation of the NMIA project is in question since the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) did not release the copy of the environmental impact statement (EIS), a documentation of the EIA, for the airport.
The EIS is an important basis for the issuance of an environmental compliance certificate (ECC), a decision document that outlines the commitments of the proponent necessary to comply with existing environmental laws.
No ECC has been issued to SMC for the construction of the NMIA, but SMC contractor Silvertides Holdings Corporation has acquired an ECC for the land development project, which includes the construction of access roads and an administration building in the area last June 2019. SMC contracted Silvertides Holdings Corp. to acquire and reclaim over 2,000 hectares of fishponds for land development.
Thus, the approval of the project prompted fisherfolk and civic groups led by Oceana, an international pro-environment advocacy group, to file a petition on December 16 for writ of kalikasan as the project violated several environment and fishery laws.
It includes Republic Act 8550 or the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 which states that “public lands such as tidal swamps, mangroves, marshes, foreshore lands, and ponds suitable for fishery operations shall not be disposed or alienated.” It also violates Republic Act 4701, which declares a portion of Bulacan’s shores in front of Manila Bay as fishing reserves.
In demanding the writ from the high court, the groups wanted to question if the company acquired the mandated permits such as the ECC. The writ of kalikasan is a legal remedy to protect and advance the constitutional right of the citizens to a balanced and healthy environment.
But even the Supreme Court proved to disappoint in this case. Citing insufficient form and substance, the court dismissed the groups’ plea on January 5.
Aside from these, the construction of the airport also violates the continuing mandamus issued by the Supreme Court in December 2008 ordering 13 government agencies, with the DENR as the primary agency, “to clean up and rehabilitate Manila Bay and restore its waters to SB classification to make it fit for swimming, skin-diving, and other forms of contact recreation.”
The construction of the airport is one of the most destructive projects in Manila Bay that makes it a clear violation of the mandamus.
“Malinaw na ito ay mapanirang proyekto at makasariling iilan lamang ang makikinabang. Ang makikinabang lamang sa airport ay sila at mga dayuhan at lokal na negosyante pero tayong mahihirap, tayong manggagawa ay patuloy na nahihirapan. Patuloy ang pagsasamantala sa ating lakas-paggawa ng mga iilan, tulad ng San Miguel Corporation,” said Hicap. ●
This article was first published online on December 18, 2020. It was updated on January 10, 2021.
