Altermidya examined the history and corporate reports of the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA), as well as the Environmental Management Bureau’s (EMB) list of reclamation projects, to analyze how the Duterte administration fast-tracked dump-and-fill projects.

Despite the negative impact reclamations have been known for, public and private entities continue to pursue them for supposed economic gains such as jobs and revenue generation. Infrastructure projects are indeed vital to development. But the development agenda has since shifted from improving the economic well-being of communities alone to ensuring that this is also done sustainably or not at the expense of future generations.

The United Nations in its 2022 Environment Assembly of the United Nations Environment Programme highlighted that “the implementation of any infrastructure projects, including projects with potential environmental impact on ecosystem integrity and connectivity, must be in line with relevant legislation and seek to avoid or minimize adverse impact on ecosystems and livelihoods.”

This is the crux of the problem that the PRA and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) need to grapple with the large-scale reclamation projects suspended by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in August 2023.

These projects are undergoing a “cumulative assessment” that the DENR expects to complete in one year. Already, fishing communities are bearing the brunt of multiple other reclamation works across the country. Fisherfolk groups claim that the regulators do not consider the actual impacts as long as proponents comply with the requirements.

Fisherfolks thrive in Manila Bay despite the threat of displacement caused by reclamation projects. Photo by Chantal Eco/Altermidya

More projects got the green light under Duterte

Since its creation in 1977, the Philippine Reclamation Authority (formerly the Public Estates Authority), the primary regulatory body for all reclamation projects, has been involved in large-scale infrastructure projects fraught with major controversies. 

From the ill-fated Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex of Imelda Marcos to the fraud-marred Centennial City Project during Fidel Ramos’ term, these reclamation works have become cautionary tales of failed government and business ventures at the expense of Filipino taxpayers.

When Benigno Aquino III became president, the PRA formulated a national reclamation plan in 2011 to serve as “a blueprint of viable reclaimable sites nationwide.” The agency identified 102 projects, covering more than 38,000 hectares, but the plan was shelved in the same year due to criticisms from the public.

The government picked up the pace when Rodrigo Duterte won the presidency.

According to Altermidya’s review of PRA’s annual corporate reports from 2010 to 2022, at least 45 projects were in the pipeline when Duterte was president, a considerable number compared to those during the term of his predecessors.

Although Duterte said in 2020 that he would not allow any proposals of reclamation projects from the private sector, most approved projects proposed by local governments are in partnership with the private sector through Public-Private Partnships or Joint Venture Agreements.

In fact, 16 of the 17 approved projects with permits on PRA’s list as of February 2024 were issued with a “notice to proceed” during Duterte’s term. This means proponents can go ahead with land reclamation. 

Among these are SM Prime Holdings Inc.’s two projects in Pasay City and Frabelle Fishing Corp. and Diamond Export Corp.’s project in Bacoor City, to name a few.

SM Prime Holdings signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with PRA for its Pasay SM Reclamation Project in 2016. It was given a Notice to Proceed in 2019, and the Notice to Commence Actual Reclamation Works in 2020. 

This new reclamation project in Pasay City will be connected to the SM Mall of Asia Complex, a 60-hectare commercial area which also sits on reclaimed land.

Applications for the Pasay Harbor City, and the Bacoor reclamation projects by Frabelle and Diamond Export, were processed in just a year after signing the MOAs in 2019 and 2021, respectively.

All 11 projects in Manila Bay with PRA permits approved under Duterte were suspended by Marcos Jr. pending a review by the DENR. But the Pasay reclamation projects already resumed operations in 2023. PRA recently announced Bacoor reclamation projects were also allowed to resume. Soon after the suspension, PRA and DENR announced that the Pasay projects are compliant so the reclamation works resumed in December 2023.

SM’s 390 hectares Pasay reclamation project resumed operations in 2023. Photos by Chantal Eco/Altermidya

Regulation round-robin

PRA Assistant General Manager Joseph John Literal told Altermidya that more applications were given the green light during the Duterte administration when the power to approve was moved from the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board to the PRA’s Governing Board.

Literal was referring to Duterte’s Executive Order No. 74, which stripped away NEDA’s power over reclamation projects and delegated it to the PRA. PRA, which used to be under the DENR, was then placed under the Office of the President. 

Since its establishment, the PRA has been transferred from one agency’s supervision to another through executive orders from past presidents.

In 2013, the power to approve reclamation projects was delegated from the PRA Board to the NEDA Board via Aquino’s Executive Order No. 146. The order cited that “there is a need to ensure that reclamation initiatives or projects are coordinated and integrated at the national and regional levels of development planning and programming, consistent with established national priorities of the government, and synchronized with development planning, programming, and budgeting.”

Literal said applications “lag” with the PRA as the recommending body and proponents do not want to push the approval with NEDA because of the composition of the NEDA Board. It’s difficult to get projects approved with the NEDA Board because a lot of secretaries are members, he added.

“Perhaps, they (proponent agency and private entities) fear the challenges involved in presenting or evaluating the project before the NEDA board. So, I believe that’s a significant issue or aspect of obtaining approval through NEDA that has become somewhat challenging for project proponents,” the lawyer said.

The NEDA Board includes the president along with heads of several other agencies like the Department of Budget and Management, Department of Finance, Department of Energy, Department of Public Works and Highways and many more.

Aside from other requirements, projects should only be approved if it has secured an Area Clearance and ECC from the DENR as reiterated in EO 74, so the AC and ECC are crucial.

While Duterte’s EO delegated the power of the president to approve reclamation projects to the PRA Governing Board it maintained the president’s authority to “modify, amend, or nullify the actions of the PRA Governing Board.”

Fisherfolk group Ang Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) believes that Duterte’s authority expanded to accommodate more developers because of the transfer of PRA under his office.

“The approval of projects became broader and faster when they were transferred to Duterte, and PRA has practically done nothing but announce areas where reclamation is possible, so developers keep applying,” said Pamalakaya Chairperson Fernando Hicap.

Environmental lawyer Atty. Antonio La Viña said that the round-robin of PRA’s authority reflects how the government has no consistency when it comes to development projects and fulfilling its role as duty-bearers in protecting the environment.

“No wonder you have this problem. There is no predictability, no consistency, no institutional record of how decisions are made,” said La Viña.

Projects approved without clearances

Still, Duterte’s executive order provided that all reclamation projects for any purpose, including those with only reclamation components like coastal roads, should apply with PRA and it reiterated that no reclamation project will be approved without the required Area Clearance and Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) from the DENR.

An Area Clearance is a document issued by the DENR declaring an area suitable for reclamation. According to DENR Administrative Order No. 2018-14, applicants will be issued an area clearance if they complied with the requirements including project description, certification on the status of the area from by the local environmental office, local government resolution, clearance from PRA and other concerned agencies, and an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC). If the proponent is compliant they will most likely be issued an area clearance.

An ECC meanwhile is a document issued by the EMB certifying that based on the representations of the proponent, the  proposed project  or undertaking will not cause significant environmental impact. The ECC also certifies that the proponent has complied with all the requirements of the EIA System and has committed to implement its approved Environmental Management Plan. 

According to DENR Administrative Order No. 2018-14, the ECC contains specific measures and conditions that the project proponent has to undertake before and during the operation of a project, and in some cases, during the project’s abandonment phase to mitigate identified environmental impacts.

Records from the EMB also show that some even proceed without permits and clearances.

In a list submitted by the EMB to a Senate hearing on reclamation projects in October 2023, out of the 224 reclamation projects that applied with PRA, the bureau only identified 60 projects that are in different stages of application and implementation. Only 26 have approved ECCs. 

Among these projects, two projects have no official ECC application, 20 have pending ECC applications, and the status of 15 projects remains unidentified by the EMB.

PRA explained that proposals go through a long process and several mandatory requirements, but the most important are the Area Clearance and ECC from the DENR. On the technical side, the agency also looks at the master plan, hydrodynamic modelling, detailed engineering design, and drainage design.

Without these clearances, projects are deemed illegal. Literal said the PRA cannot cover everything hence he is encouraging the public to report to them. However, he noted that what usually happens is that these illegal reclamation works will eventually be processed to comply with rules. In fact, the processing of illegal reclamation projects are included in some of PRA’s annual reports.

PRA has issued at least two orders – Administrative Order No. 2005-1 and Administrative Order No. 2008-3 – that provided rules and procedures for the special registration and titling of unauthorized or illegal reclamation projects, respectively.

“But if you’re talking about environmental compliance, we stick to the findings or the requirements of DENR, especially the conditions for the environmental compliance certificate,” said Literal.

La Viña questioned if the procedures in approving these projects were followed.

“If the DENR were strict, these projects would not have been approved. Overall, Duterte is accountable for this,” said La Viña.

Projects approved without clearances

Altermidya sent an interview request to DENR on Jan. 5, 2024. The department has not responded to the request despite multiple follow-ups.

In a press briefing in November 2023, DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said that the DENR is undertaking two processes in reviewing reclamation projects: the compliance review and the cumulative impact assessment.

The compliance review process will look into the ECC and the area clearances of all those that were given the go signal to see whether they have actually complied with the conditions.

The cumulative impact assessment, meanwhile, will involve scientific analysis needed in order for the DENR to determine what is the cumulative impact of all of these projects in terms of the fulfilment of the mandamus order by the DENR as the lead implementing agency. 

Fisherfolk groups, however, are not convinced by the measures regulators are taking.

“They just approve the ECC without considering the long-term effects of these reclamation projects and the irreversible damages to marine ecosystems that it will cause,” said Hicap.

For instance, towards the end of his term, in March 2022, Duterte himself issued a moratorium on new applications. The moratorium is still in effect as of today, but the PRA itself admits that applications and approvals of reclamation projects are still being done on a case-to-case basis. 

“It really depends on who the President can accept. Because in the end, the one who still has the final say in lifting (the moratorium) is the President,” said Literal.

Challenge

“So the Marcos government, if they’re serious about this, has to do a blanket stop, including disallowing those that have already started,” said La Viña.

La Viña added that the solution to stop these destructive projects is in the hands of the people.

In 2022, residents of Dumaguete City successfully halted the local government’s ‘Smart City’ project that will reclaim 174 hectares of the city’s coast through a series of legal complaints and protests.

Watch: Smart City, tinututulan

“Reclamation projects will continue if local and community organizations are weak. The challenge really is for the citizens to oppose it, to fight it. “ La Viña said.

Reporting for this story was supported by the Environmental Data Journalism Academy, a program of Internews’ Earth Journalism Network and Thibi.

Credits

Data visualization, analysis, and fronted development / Chantal Eco
Edited by / Karol Ilagan, Eva Constantares, Kenneth Roland Guda
Ilustrations by / Archilles Parallon