Senate OKs bill creating Las Piñas – Parañaque Wetland Park 

The Senate of the Philippines on Monday approved a proposed measure seeking the establishment of a 3-kilometer buffer zone from the current shoreline boundary around the Las Piñas–Parañaque Wetland Park (LPPWP).

Senate Bill (SB) 1536, otherwise known as the LPPWP Protection Act of 2025, is expected to better protect migratory and resident birds, as well as several fish species and mollusks in the LPPWP.

The bill was introduced by Senators Cynthia Villar, Loren Legarda, Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, and Joel Villanueva.

Villar, who sponsored the measure, said the LPPWP is currently "under threat" from the potential impacts of proposed reclamation projects adjacent to it.

A 2021 study commissioned by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources–Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (DENR-ERDB) revealed that proposed reclamation projects within Manila Bay have exacerbated erosion, sedimentation, coastal and inland flooding in Metro Manila, and reshaped the intertidal mudflats of the LPPWP.

Hence, the need to expand its boundaries as a protected area and its surrounding vicinities.

The LPPWP houses at least 5,000 individuals of about 82 species of migratory and resident birds, including the Philippine Duck and Chinese Egret, which are threatened with extinction.

The 181.63-hectare wetland park is also home to important fish species, mollusks, and around 23 species of true and associated mangroves.

Once enacted, the measure would secure the expansion of the protected area to ensure that the ecological integrity of both its land and water is well preserved and managed. It will also safeguard biodiversity in critical areas from the pressures of development.

The proposed 3-kilometer buffer zone will enhance conservation efforts and ensure the protection of mudflats and shallow water habitats, serving as foraging sites for migratory birds, spawning and nursery grounds for fish, and providing a greater dispersal area for fish and invertebrate larvae.

SB 1536 also empowers the LPPWP Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) to effectively manage allowable activities within the expanded area, thereby ensuring the maintenance of the natural coastal ecosystem and the overall ecological character of the LPPWP.

Under the bill, the ownership of portions of properties covering the LPPWP under the Philippine Estates Authority — also known as the Philippine Reclamation Authority — shall be transferred to the DENR for conservation, protection, and development of the wetland park as an important wildlife habitat and ecotourism site.

The measure prohibits the exploration, exploitation, or utilization of non-renewable resources within the LPPWP and its buffer zone for commercial purposes.

Reclamation, including converting coastal or marine areas to land by dump-and-fill methods, granting permissions for reclamation, filling-in, or drainage (except when necessary for national interest), fishing during peak spawning seasons of marine species, or any activity that disturbs or destroys spawning areas, are strictly prohibited under the act.