Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez on Monday belittled the warning made by Senator Cynthia Villar who said the city’s planned reclamation project in Manila Bay would cause flooding in the areas nearby.
Olivarez said any proposed reclamation, including the issue of flooding, would be subjected to a thorough appraisal by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and other concerned government agencies.
“The assessment, determination and all technical parameters of any proposed reclamation will also be subjected to investigation and checking not only by the DENR but also the Department of Public Works and Highways, whose chief is the son of the senator,” he said.
Villar claimed the reclamation project being pushed by the Paranaque City government would cause flooding in Cavite, Las Pinas and other areas including Paranaque, and will destroy 35 hectares of mangrove forest along Manila Bay.
But Olivarez pointed out that no reclamation project could be implemented without first passing compliance of all the technical requirements of the law.
“No reclamation project can also be realizèd without approved policies and issuance of the government, otherwise, the proposed project is doomed for denial and therefore should not be implemented,” he explained.
The project will be situated along the coast of Manila Bay fronting the five coastal barangays in Paranque, namely Baclaran, Tambo, La Huerta, Don Galo, and San Dionisio.
In addition, Olivarez said, three inland barangays namely Moonwalk, Sto.Nino and Vitalez were included as beneficiaries.
The reclamation will consist of one island with approximately 950-meter distance from the nearest corner of the reclamation layout to the nearest shoreline of Manila Bay, which is also a reclaimed land.
According to Olivarez, the environmental impact statement (EIS) report has been prepared to serve as a requirement application for an environment compliance certificate (ECC) for the proposed project.
The city chief executive said the ECC application covers only the horizontal development or the reclamation of land, including the construction of access ways.
