The Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park (LPPWP), formerly known as the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA), is one of the ten critical sites in the country designated as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. Despite this protected status, the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) is promoting LPPWP for lease and joint ventures in a now-deleted post dated March 19.
Scientist group AGHAM assailed PRA’s brazen commodification that openly invites investors to “be part of transforming urban landscapes by submitting inquiries and proposals for lease and joint ventures” instead of investing in ecosystem conservation and rehabilitation.
“At a time when the Philippines is already losing its wetlands and mangrove areas at an alarming rate, PRA’s actions reflect a reckless disregard for the environment and the public interest. If these development plans push through, they threaten to destroy one of the few remaining sanctuaries for local fauna and migratory birds in Manila Bay,” said AGHAM in a statement.
The LPPWP spans around 181.63 hectares, with two interconnected landmasses abundant in mangroves, mudflats, and diverse ecosystems. The wetland also serves as a sanctuary for migratory birds, which flock to the mudflats from August to April. The LPPWP was declared a critical habitat under the Presidential Proclamation No. 1412 in 2007. In 2013, it became a National Protected Area through the Republic Act No. 11038 or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Area Act.
AGHAM reminded the public that the PRA has a long track record of greenlighting reclamation projects in critical habitats and is complicit in the degradation of Manila Bay, which has about 23 reclamation projects.
Many environmental groups have criticized the Marcos Jr. administration despite his order of indefinite suspension on major reclamation projects in Manila Bay in 2023. However, several coastal areas, including those in Navotas City with its 650-hectare Navotas Coastal Bay Reclamation Project which continues to threaten the livelihoods of small-scale fisherfolks and mussel farmers and in Pasay City with the 265-hectare Pasay City Harbor Reclamation project which involves building three artificial islands linked to SM Mall of Asia Complex (MOA). In fact, MOA and other buildings in Entertainment City were once an extensive wetland as part of Tambo mudflats within the LPPWP.
Last February 20, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) acknowledged the destructive environmental impacts of reclamation in Manila Bay.
DENR commissioned the UP Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI) to conduct a cumulative impact assessment on Manila Bay reclamation projects, with the assessment findings confirming the disruption and damage caused by the projects to the bay’s ecosystem. If the reclamations continue, DENR warns that the projects will exacerbate flooding in Metro Manila as many of them are not integrated into the flood management plan of various local government units.
“We call on the PRA to stop any plans to commercialize and privatize the Las Piñas–Parañaque Wetland Park and other critical ecosystems in Manila Bay and the entire country. Public wetlands are not for sale. We urge the Philippine government to invest in conserving and rehabilitating these invaluable and irreplaceable ecosystems—for the people, the planet, and future generations,” AGHAM concluded.
