Senator Villar ready to file cases vs reclamation

By Tracy Cabrera

FOLLOWING the devastation wrought by super typhoon Carina (international name Gaemi) that destroyed millions of pesos’ worth of crops and property and killed at least 21 people, Senator Cynthia Villar is eyeing to file cases against those behind the continued implementation of reclamation projects in the Manila Bay despite a directive for their stoppage by President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. 

The lady senator, Chairperson of the Senate’s committee on the environment, natural resources and climate change, issued the pronouncement after she was asked at the Kapihan sa Manila Hotel whether the said reclamation projects in Manila Bay had impacted the environment and may have contributed to the intense flooding in Metro Manila. 

Villar said that reclamation is not a viable solution to the need for more land areas, as claimed by some local government officials and the business sector, because it aggravates the destruction of mangroves that is important in the existence of marine biodiversity and the protection of the environment and communities against severe climate conditions, particularly storm surges and heavy rainfall. 

“We have learned from the past and thus is why we have not considered reclamation in Las Pinas because our priority is to conserve the environment while mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change,” she pointed out.

She disclosed that if reclamation in Manila Bay does not cease, she will be prompted to file cases against the people ang groups who continue to disregard the adverse impacts of such initiatives on our environment.

“We cannot stand idly by and suffer in silence. We need to act and the time is now for us to promote an active response to climate change. We will not allow greed to stand in our way but rather strengthen our resolve for the benefit of our people,” she stressed. 

As a final word, Villar touced on the issue of waste-to-energy (WtE) technologies which she also described as a non-viable project, counting on the fact that it is not cost-efficient and the emissions from such could cause cancer and other  illness among those who inadvertently inhale the toxic humes. 

“I do not advice WtE but would rather push for the old method of waste segregation and proper disposal of garbage as tried and proven ways of waste management. This is what we are doing in Las Pinas and it is quite successful in helping our city to be clean and green,” she concluded.