"An expert says the new airport will be a disaster for Bulacan, Metro Manila and adjacent provinces."
"An expert says the new airport will be a disaster for Bulacan, Metro Manila and adjacent provinces."
After having tendered an unopposed offer to build the New Manila International Airport, San Miguel Corp. has been given the green light to proceed with the construction of the four-terminal airport in Bulacan over a 3,300 hectare property, standing on water and which has yet to be reclaimed.
The project is expected to decongest the already overcrowded Ninoy Aquino International Airport as it targets to service 100-million passengers a year.
However, former press attachè to the Philippine Embassy in Washington, Ado Paglinawan, insists that the mega project touted to deliver us from the miseries of the overcrowded NAIA terminals will only spell disaster not only for Bulacan but for the whole of Metro Manila and adjacent provinces.
In his paper, Paglinawan said the Environmental Compliance Certificate issued by the Regional Director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for the project is anomalous because the adverse environmental impact of the Bulacan Airport project extends to the National Capital Region and Region IV-A because of the interconnecting over and underground river basin systems and network of river deltas behind the coastlines of the entire Manila Bay.
Paglinawan says further that if and when it should have been issued at all, the responsibility should have not been below the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources himself.
As it currently stands, Paglinawan says that even without the Bulacan Airport, there is already a warning of a clear and present danger to human lives and safety for all those in the areas affected by the interconnections.
And he hits the nail right on the head. The amount of rainfall that fell on Metro Manila last week, which inundated streets resulting in horrific traffic conditions and sent schools to close for several days, is enough proof of this.
And we are not even talking about “Ondoy” and habagat that in recent years cost thousands of lives, billions in private properties and immobilized Metro Manila for days, and Typhoon “Yoling” which flooded many parts of Central Luzon for six months.
It is interesting to note that presently, there are already areas in Bulacan where the municipalities have already raised street and drainage canals by one meter, causing the inundation to seep into and dwell on the ground floors of residential communities for months.
As such, Paglinawan says any reclamation or land development project, regardless of the semantics, especially in the magnitude of 3,000 hectares, can perpetuate this despicable condition for many generations.
Serious flood control mitigation and disaster resiliency strategies and infrastructure, not just for immediate areas but all those fronting the entire Manila Bay, must precede any development project, especially one of this magnitude.
* * *
Golden Boy
How time flies. It seems not too long ago I used to hang out with this guy, along with his brothers Joy and Roy (It was actually Roy whom I got first acquainted with), first in their apartment in EDSA , and then in another compound in Kamuning. Playing basketball, music and downing a few bottles thereafter (With Joy and Roy only as he was not of the drinking age then).
Oh what a time it was, but it was really fun. And that was long ago. Their apartment on EDSA had to give way for the MRT Quezon Avenue Station. I don’t know who now dwells in their former abode in Kamuning.
But the other night, we had some sort of reunion. He, his gorgeous wife Vangie, Joy, Roy and their lovely sons and daughters, all grown up. The event—his 50th birthday, marks his entry to a golden era.
Happy Birthday Neil Brillantes. Hope to sit down with you again soon.
