The Manila Bay reclamation project controversy, which once divided siblings, is escalating into a family dispute between aunt and niece.

Las Piñas Mayor Imelda Aguilar’s daughter, businesswoman Alelee Aguilar-Andanar, expressed her support yesterday for the resumption of the delayed P103.8-billion Las Piñas-Parañaque Coastal Bay Reclamation Project, citing its potential to generate significant income for the city.

Aguilar-Andanar, who is running for councilor in next year’s elections, appealed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga to approve the project’s “notice to proceed,” emphasizing that it would create thousands of local jobs and fund pro-poor initiatives, including socialized housing.

Alelee is the third daughter of the late Las Piñas Mayor Vergel “Nene” Aguilar, who served the city from 1995 to 2004 and again from 2007 to 2016. She is also the wife of former Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar.

Ten years ago, Aguilar-Andanar recalled that the reclamation project was a dream and vision of her late father. She also highlighted that in 2000, Las Piñas became the first and only city in the country to receive the United Nations Award for Environmental Protection.

Her father’s vision, she said, was to keep up with modern development. “If we don’t keep up, or if we don’t find ways to generate income, it will be more difficult for the next generation,” Aguilar-Andanar quoted her father as saying.

The reclamation project, originally named “Las Piñas, Our Home 2.0,” was a major part of her father’s plans. However, the project was met with opposition from the late mayor’s sister, then Las Piñas Rep. (now Senator) Cynthia Aguilar, who filed a petition in the Supreme Court.

In 2009, Villar petitioned the SC to stop the project, arguing that the reclamation would increase the risk of flooding and obstruct the flow of the Las Piñas-Zapote and Parañaque rivers.

Frustrated

“Why didn’t she bring this matter to me directly instead of taking it to the Supreme Court?” said the late mayor, expressing his frustration.

On 21 October 2021, the Supreme Court en banc voted 11-2 to approve the reclamation project, which spans approximately 530 hectares of the Manila Bay coastline in Las Piñas-Parañaque, ruling that the environmental threats posed by the project were not sufficiently substantiated.

The project, proposed by Alltech Contractors Inc. in 2009, aims to develop 321.26 hectares of land in Las Piñas and 174.88 hectares in Parañaque, both along the Manila Bay coastline.

The Philippine Reclamation Authority approved the project in 2010, contingent on its compliance with environmental regulations.

Contrary to Villar’s claim, Aguilar-Andanar asserted that the Supreme Court had verified that Alltech had submitted the required environmental studies for the project.

She also disputed her aunt’s claim that the reclamation would pose an environmental threat to Las Piñas, pointing out that many reclaimed lands along Manila Bay were not the most flood-prone.

According to Aguilar-Andanar, other low-lying areas, such as along the Pasig River, were more prone to frequent flooding. These areas include parts of cities like Las Piñas, Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Manila, Pasay, Parañaque and Valenzuela.

Flooding in these areas, she explained, is often linked to tidal variations on Manila Bay. Daily tidal movements can inundate land up to 0.3 meters above mean sea level.

Job opportunities

Aguilar-Andanar said her family would work with incumbent Councilors Mark Anthony Santos and Henry Medina to convince their constituents of the reclamation project’s benefits, including restoring ecosystems, creating wildlife habitats, and mitigating flooding.

Earlier, Santos and Medina disclosed the proposed project could provide 400,000 to 500,000 jobs, which would reduce unemployment in the metropolis, particularly in Las Piñas.

Medina also suggested that Rep. Villar’s opposition to the reclamation project was motivated not by environmental concerns but by its potential to affect the real estate value of Villar’s properties, particularly in the Villar City business district.

Medina criticized Villar for not opposing two other government-approved reclamation projects in Pasay City — the 265-hectare Pasay Harbor City Reclamation Project and a 360-hectare joint venture between Pasay City and SM Prime Holdings Inc.— because these projects are far from Villar City.

Medina noted that if Villar was genuinely concerned about reclamation projects, she should have also protested the ongoing construction of the New Manila International Airport in Bulacan, a major reclamation project of San Miguel Corporation.