A coalition of militant fishers groups known as Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA), along with participants from the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment and Advocates of Science and Technology for the People (AGHAM), gathered for a march to Mendiola on Thursday, 07 September 2023.
Their objective was to vehemently oppose the ongoing reclamation and dredging activities, which, according to them, still persist despite a suspension order issued by Malacanang Palace.
The group expressed their dissatisfaction with what they deemed as a toothless and ineffective verbal suspension order issued by President Bongbong Marcos in relation to the ongoing reclamation and dredging operations taking place along various coastal areas within Manila Bay.
In the coastal towns of Cavite, dredging activities that were complementing dump-and-fill projects in Manila and Bulacan continued unabated. These dredging activities encompassed more than 13,000 hectares of the province’s municipal waters, impacting the livelihoods of over 10,000 fisherfolk in the towns of Bacoor City, Rosario, Novelete, Tanza, Naic, and Cavite City.
Furthermore, the construction of the Bulacan Airport project, which involved extensive reclamation of mangroves, fish ponds, and other wetlands connected to Manila Bay, remained unaffected by the suspension order Pamalakaya said. (Benjie Cuaresma/ai/mnm)
