Pasay, among richest cities

Peter Manzano, city administrator of Pasay, said the local government aims to elevate the economic status of the travel city of the Philippines to one of the country’s richest, if not the richest, within three and a half decades.

Manzano, during the hearing of the House Committee on Ways and Means chaired by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, said the Manila Bay reclamation under the Pasay Eco City Coastal Development Project “could generate P2.54 trillion in taxes.”

The national government’s share from the taxes will be about P1.39 trillion in income and value-added taxes over the long term. The city is expected to earn P1.15 trillion from real property and business taxes.

“The projects are estimated to create economic multipliers, generate a million jobs, and generate billions in revenues,” he said.

Manzano is not basing his economic figures on dreams but on solid realities enjoyed by the city government of Pasay, from the stunning success of the Mall of Asia, as envisioned by the late visionary and father of the global metropolis of Pasay City, Mayor Duay Calixto, whose daughter is now Mayor Imelda “Emi” Calixto-Rubiano.

The city government of Pasay is pursuing its vision to build a Pasay Eco City known as Pasay 360 and Pasay 265 under its Coastal Development Project.

Both Pasay 360 and 265 will “feature eco-friendly and modern commercial institutional and residential spaces highlighted by blue and green infrastructure, such as green parks, mini forests and mangrove corridors.”

Pasay 360 is a 360-hectare reclamation project conducted via a joint venture with SM Smart City Infrastructure and Development Corp., an SM Prime Holdings Inc. subsidiary.

The 265-hectare Pasay 265 is a joint venture with Harbor City Corp. The Pasay City projects “do not threaten the environment, having gone through the environmental compliance certificate or ECC process.”

Various agencies, such as the Philippine Reclamation Authority, Philippine Coast Guard, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and the city government of Pasay, also monitor the projects.

The Pasay Eco City reclaimed land will have a minimum elevation of four meters, serving as a coastal defense against floods, sea level rise, storm surges and tsunamis.

The DENR confirmed before the end of last year that it had allowed the two Pasay City reclamation projects to resume after the project proponents complied with the agency’s requirements, Environment Secretary Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said.

Yulo-Loyzaga said several reclamation technical conferences were called to discuss the agency’s observations, and, in the end, both projects substantially complied.”

The DENR secretary clarified, however, that only the Philippine Reclamation Authority can lift the suspended status of the two projects as the agency can “evaluate and assess compliance.”

The DENR conducts a compliance review and a community impact assessment of reclamation projects.

“We do not suspend or lift the suspension; that is a matter for the PRA,” Yulo-Loyzaga said.

The Pasay City government earlier announced that the reclamation projects had been deemed compliant with the requirements of the local government, the DENR, and the PRA.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. suspended 22 reclamation projects on Manila Bay pending a review of their compliance with environmental regulations.

The two reclamation projects form part of the Pasay City government’s plans to establish “eco-friendly” and “modern commercial institutional and residential space.”

Fisher groups have warned against the impact of reclamation projects on coastal ecosystems and communities, stressing that the environmental and socio-economic costs of dump and fill activities are significant.