We, the petitioners, are appealing to all concerned communities, to help us with our struggle to Stop the Proposed Minglanilla Reclamation Project and all other reclamation projects in general.

Municipality of Minglanilla in partnership with Ming-Mori Development Corporation will build a 100-hectare industrial park. The project to be called "Minglanilla Reclamation & Industrial Park", is the first Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) of this type. The barangays affected of the reclamation project are: Barangays Calajoan, Tulay, and Tungkil, Municipality of Minglanilla, Province of Cebu, Philippines.

For this project be realized, they will be (a) dredging coral reefs, (b) destroying food-source and (c) displacing fisher folks, all in the name of development. Local residents expressed their disapproval against the proposed 100-hectare reclamation project, instead are demanding "educational empowerment" as a sure path to development. 

According to the position paper by OCEANA Phils., Reclamation, or the practice of burying mangroves, sea grass beds, corals and other fisheries habitats with tons of soil and rocks to make way for “development” projects, is an environmentally destructive activity usually undertaken in highly vulnerable or biodiversity-rich areas. Due to its inherently destructive nature, reclamation damages our natural ecosystems in three ways as, (1) it destroys the source of the filling material by scraping and quarrying hills and mountain which subsequent erosion flows to rivers and streams in the area; 2) the part of the sea to be filled consisting of at least three types of ecosystems will no longer be viable nor life-supporting, and; 3) the surrounding areas that will be forever changed due to hydrologic and migratory route changes.[1]

OCEANA Phils. representative also stressed out that reclamation projects violate the Law for the following reasons:

• Reclamation Projects Constitute Substantial Alteration Subject to the Requirements of the Local Government Code

• Reclamation Projects Cause Illegal Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) Disbursements to Local Government Units (LGUs) by the Department of Budget and Management

•  Reclamation Projects Must Strictly Comply with the Rules on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Compliance Certificates (ECC) 

• In Some Areas, Reclamation Violates the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act
• Reclamation Projects Violates the State Policy of Preferential Access to Municipal Waters for Artisanal Fisherfolk under the Fisheries Code, as amended.
• Reclamation Joint Venture Agreements (JVAs) with Private Corporations Violates the Philippine Constitution
• LGUs are Unauthorized to Enter into a Joint Venture Agreement to Undertake Reclamation Projects with Private Corporations
• Approval of Reclamation Projects Must Consider the Adverse Impacts of Climate Change to Our Vulnerable Ecosystems

Conservation, not further destruction of our marine habitats, is key to food security. With all the disastrous effects of reclamation to our environment, we ask that the people’s right to a healthful and balanced ecology be enforced. This is especially worrisome today as the Philippine exclusive economic zone has left fish stocks depleted by as much as 90%, sea grass beds destroyed by as much as 50%, and coral reefs degraded by as much as 96%, all in the past 50 years.”[2]  Moreover, the destruction of large areas of mangrove forests and coral reefs can result in lower incomes from fishing, reduced local food production and extreme poverty. Issues of subsidence and liquefaction, habitat loss in multiple ecosystems, among others should be factored in as well. [3] All these adverse environmental effects should be considered before government decides to undertake an ecologically high-impact project such as reclamation. The urgency of the situation is compounded by the fact that the Philippines is one of the most vulnerable countries on the impacts of climate change such as sea level rise, storm surges and displacement of coastal residents.

Involved government agencies must exercise its legal authority to prevent dumping and filling projects which do not comply with the requirements set by law. By enforcing the law against illegal dump and fill projects, we hope that the intergenerational duty of protecting the people’s rights to a healthful and balanced ecology is truly upheld.

[1] Cynthia Villar Privilege Speech, Reclaiming the People’s Right to a Balanced and Healthful Ecology’, October 21, 2013
[2] Center for Environmental Concerns , as cited by Senator Villar, supra.
[3] The Japan International Cooperation Agency , as cited by Senator Villar, supra.