It’s time President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. signed off on the P103.8-billion Las Piñas-Parañaque Coastal Bay Reclamation Project, which he had exempted from his suspension order on reclamations and approved in November last year.

The presidential approval came after the project under the Pasay Eco-City Coastal Development was granted an environmental compliance certificate and an area clearance by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA), respectively.

Las Piñas City Councilor Mark Anthony Santos urged Marcos not to mind the “tantrums” of Sen. Cynthia Villar and sign off on the project’s compliance certificate so it could be rolled out at the soonest possible time.

Villar, Santos has said, was blocking the project because it would compete with her family’s vast real estate business. He noted that the Villars had lost all the legal battles surrounding the multi-billion-peso project.

In 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that the reclamation project to convert around 530 hectares of Manila Bay along the coastlines of Las Piñas and Parañaque cities would have no adverse impact on the environment.

Santos said he was informed by the project developer, Alltech Contractors Inc., that it was ready to start the project but was just awaiting Malacañang’s endorsement and a notice to proceed.

“Alltech Contractor has complied with the PRA requirements such as feasibility studies, environmental certificates, and clearances from the DENR, as well as hydrodynamic and morphologic studies,” Santos said. 

‘Villars hindering project’

He said the only hindrance to the project was the Villar family whose members are in the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) which issues clearance certificates for reclamation projects.

Alltech Contractors in 2009 proposed developing 321.26 hectares in Las Piñas and 174.88 hectares in Parañaque, both along their coastlines in Manila Bay.

The following year, the PRA approved the project, subject to its compliance with environmental rules.

The two reclamation projects are the 265-hectare Pasay Harbor Reclamation Project and the 360-hectare reclamation project connected to the SM Mall of Asia complex.

“There is no legal impediment after the unanimous SC decision three years ago,” Santos said, adding that “gusto pang humirit ni Villar eh bokya na nga. Hindi lahat ng bagay ay nadadaan sa dami ng pera (Villar keeps protesting but she’s got nothing.  Not everything is about how much money one has).”

Santos said the typical example of an urban renewal is the Mall of Asia, which has become a major center of business and entertainment in the whole of Asia.

“We reclaim land to create a large space as a viable and practical option rather than procure rights-of-way in congested urban areas,” he noted.

Imelda’s ‘baby’

In 1977, Santos said, former first lady and President Marcos’s mother, Imelda Marcos, commenced the construction of Bay City in line with her City of Man project. The Public Estates Authority (now the Philippine Reclamation Authority) was created to manage the project.

The plan was to reclaim 3,000 hectares in Manila Bay. However, only 660 hectares were built up encompassing the cities of Pasay, Parañaque, and a small portion in Manila.

Among the major developments in Bay City are the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex, SM Mall of Asia, Aseana City and Entertainment City.

The Las Piñas councilor, who is running for Congress next year, said that aside from the socioeconomic benefits that we need to reach upper middle-income status, “the bay reclamations have the unique environmental benefit of coastal protection, especially in terms of providing a buffer against tsunamis, storm surges and soil erosion. “

The PRA maintains the bay can have both rehabilitation and reclamation, explaining that other countries strategically reclaim land for the greater good Santos said.

Cities like New York and Mumbai reclaim land to deal with their growing populations, he added.