The ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) launched a critical inquiry in Manila on October 26, focusing on the devastating effects of reclamation projects and environmental challenges on Philippine communities and marine resources.
This inquiry formed part of APHR’s ongoing efforts, led by former and current Southeast Asian parliamentarians, to investigate how these industries affect coastal and marine resources and the fundamental rights of at-risk communities.
“We should look at the climate crisis beyond flood control and relief operations because quarrying, mining, deforestation, reclamation, and other extractive industries sponsored by big corporations are putting Filipino people’s lives at grave risk,” said APHR’s board member and Philippines’ representative Arlene D. Brosas.
She called on the Philippine government and stakeholders to ensure the human rights and safety of Filipinos.
The inquiry aimed to address community concerns about reclamation projects, collecting data to support a human rights-centered policy framework.
APHR’s international parliamentary inquiry (IPI) Committee members, including Brosas, former Malaysian parliamentarian Charles Santiago, Thai MP Nitipon Piwmow, and Malaysian MP Lee Chean Chung, joined representatives from civil society groups such as Pamalakaya, Oceana, Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, and the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice.
Impacts on local livelihoods
The Philippine Reclamation Authority reported that 187 reclamation projects are underway in the Philippines, significantly impacting marine and coastal resources.
Nitipon Piwmow, APHR’s member and Thai MP, said: “It is clear that land reclamation has negatively impacted the supply of mussels, oysters, mackerel, squid, and other fish species in the Manila Bay area. We have to hold stakeholders and the government responsible.”
Bong Binosa, a fisher from the coastal community in Bacoor, Cavite, shared during the inquiry how reclamation projects have changed local life.
“Life in our community used to be really good. Abundant fish catch and a peaceful environment. Now, with these reclamation projects, fish supply at the market is seasonal,” he said.
Once Luzon’s top supplier of mussels and oysters, Binosa explained that Cavite now faces a sharp decline in marine resources.
The inquiry also highlighted violations of fundamental rights, such as forced evictions and red-tagging of environmental defenders.
Jonila Castro of the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment said these reclamation operations all ended in tragedy. “There is no success story. The government, hand-in-hand with big corporations, weaponizes the law to vilify and tag as enemies of the state those that resist these development projects.”
Castro noted that these projects undermine the livelihoods and security of ordinary Filipinos.
Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA), a fisherfolk group, welcomed APHR’s call to halt reclamation projects, arguing that these developments “directly impact the fundamental rights of citizens in at-risk communities.”
In a statement, National Chairperson Fernando Hicap explained that fisherfolk have lost 80 to 90 percent of their daily income due to reclamation and seabed quarrying.
“We appreciate APHR’s stance against reclamation, which violates the fundamental rights of basic sectors like the fisherfolk,” Hicap said in Filipino.
He urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to heed APHR’s recommendations to halt harmful reclamation projects, highlighting their effects on reduced fish catch, rising sea levels, and worsening storms.
The fisherfolk group emphasized that the APHR visit represented a “critical moment” in elevating their struggle against reclamation to the international stage.
Meanwhile, Oceana, an ocean conservation group, expressed concerns about Manila Bay reclamation projects and the proposed New Manila International Airport, both of which they challenged in the Supreme Court.
Joyce Sierra, communications manager for Oceana, said the group sought accountability from the government and local officials for these projects. Oceana’s petition highlighted the displacement of fisherfolk in Bulacan and alleged violations of environmental laws protecting mangroves.
“Unfortunately, this was dismissed by the Supreme Court, but Oceana continued campaigning along with some groups here on the projects that continue to be implemented without the necessary consultation and public participation of the people in the decision-making,” Sierra said.
Detrimental effects on marine life
According to Oceana, reclamation poses serious threats to marine life and fisheries.
Gloria Estenzo-Ramos, vice president of Oceana Philippines, described the impacts of reclamation projects on marine ecosystems as “alarming, reprehensible, and sad,” emphasizing that the Philippines, recognized globally as the “center of the center of marine biodiversity”, faces severe risks from government-permitted reclamation and extractive activities.
“Our own government is putting its people, especially the poorest and the food and nutritionally insecure among us, at grave risk towards the path of extreme vulnerability and destruction of our very own sources of livelihoods and sustenance,” Ramos told Maritime Fairtrade.
She condemned practices such as dumping and filling of reefs, seagrass, and mangroves, which displace artisanal fisherfolk and degrade critical wildlife habitats.
Ramos criticized the government’s allowance of seabed quarrying for use as filling material for these projects, labeling it a “continuing violation of human rights”. She warned that reclamation efforts are heightening the risks of flooding, liquefaction, and climate change impacts, saying, “Continuing the devastating reclamation projects is not exactly smart policy.”
She urged the Philippine government to “walk the talk”, referencing its commitments to international agreements that protect human rights and the environment.
Ramos also questioned why the Philippines permits similar ecologically and economically destructive projects to occur in its inland shores and waters, saying, “We are angry when China destroys disputed rich marine ecosystems in the West Philippine Sea and displaces our fisherfolk.”
“Stopping the ecologically devastating reclamation projects is proof of an abundance of care for our children and their children,” she emphasized, underscoring the need for sustainable development that protects the country’s rich marine resources.
Photo credit: APHR. ASEAN explores the effect of reclamation projects on the Philippines’ coastal and marine resources on October 26, 2024.