Altermidya examined the history and corporate reports of the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA), as well as the Environmental Management Bureau’s (EMB) list of reclamation projects, to analyze how the Duterte administration fast-tracked dump-and-fill projects.

Despite the negative impact reclamations have been known for, public and private entities continue to pursue them for supposed economic gains such as jobs and revenue generation. Infrastructure projects are indeed vital to development. But the development agenda has since shifted from improving the economic well-being of communities alone to ensuring that this is also done sustainably or not at the expense of future generations.

The United Nations in its 2022 Environment Assembly of the United Nations Environment Programme highlighted that “the implementation of any infrastructure projects, including projects with potential environmental impact on ecosystem integrity and connectivity, must be in line with relevant legislation and seek to avoid or minimize adverse impact on ecosystems and livelihoods.”

This is the crux of the problem that the PRA and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) need to grapple with the large-scale reclamation projects suspended by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in August 2023.

These projects are undergoing a “cumulative assessment” that the DENR expects to complete in one year. Already, fishing communities are bearing the brunt of multiple other reclamation works across the country. Fisherfolk groups claim that the regulators do not consider the actual impacts as long as proponents comply with the requirements.

Fisherfolks thrive in Manila Bay despite the threat of displacement caused by reclamation projects. Photo by Chantal Eco/Altermidya

More projects got the green light under Duterte

Since its creation in 1977, the Philippine Reclamation Authority (formerly the Public Estates Authority), the primary regulatory body for all reclamation projects, has been involved in large-scale infrastructure projects fraught with major controversies. 

From the ill-fated Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex of Imelda Marcos to the fraud-marred Centennial City Project during Fidel Ramos’ term, these reclamation works have become cautionary tales of failed government and business ventures at the expense of Filipino taxpayers.

When Benigno Aquino III became president, the PRA formulated a national reclamation plan in 2011 to serve as “a blueprint of viable reclaimable sites nationwide.” The agency identified 102 projects, covering more than 38,000 hectares, but the plan was shelved in the same year due to criticisms from the public.

The government picked up the pace when Rodrigo Duterte won the presidency.

According to Altermidya’s review of PRA’s annual corporate reports from 2010 to 2022, at least 45 projects were in the pipeline when Duterte was president, a considerable number compared to those during the term of his predecessors.

Although Duterte said in 2020 that he would not allow any proposals of reclamation projects from the private sector, most approved projects proposed by local governments are in partnership with the private sector through Public-Private Partnships or Joint Venture Agreements.

In fact, 16 of the 17 approved projects with permits on PRA’s list as of February 2024 were issued with a “notice to proceed” during Duterte’s term. This means proponents can go ahead with land reclamation. 

Among these are SM Prime Holdings Inc.’s two projects in Pasay City and Frabelle Fishing Corp. and Diamond Export Corp.’s project in Bacoor City, to name a few.

SM Prime Holdings signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with PRA for its Pasay SM Reclamation Project in 2016. It was given a Notice to Proceed in 2019, and the Notice to Commence Actual Reclamation Works in 2020. 

This new reclamation project in Pasay City will be connected to the SM Mall of Asia Complex, a 60-hectare commercial area which also sits on reclaimed land.

Applications for the Pasay Harbor City, and the Bacoor reclamation projects by Frabelle and Diamond Export, were processed in just a year after signing the MOAs in 2019 and 2021, respectively.

All 11 projects in Manila Bay with PRA permits approved under Duterte were suspended by Marcos Jr. pending a review by the DENR. But the Pasay reclamation projects already resumed operations in 2023. PRA recently announced Bacoor reclamation projects were also allowed to resume. Soon after the suspension, PRA and DENR announced that the Pasay projects are compliant so the reclamation works resumed in December 2023.

SM’s 390 hectares Pasay reclamation project resumed operations in 2023. Photos by Chantal Eco/Altermidya

Regulation round-robin

PRA Assistant General Manager Joseph John Literal told Altermidya that more applications were given the green light during the Duterte administration when the power to approve was moved from the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board to the PRA’s Governing Board.

Literal was referring to Duterte’s Executive Order No. 74, which stripped away NEDA’s power over reclamation projects and delegated it to the PRA. PRA, which used to be under the DENR, was then placed under the Office of the President. 

Since its establishment, the PRA has been transferred from one agency’s supervision to another through executive orders from past presidents.

In 2013, the power to approve reclamation projects was delegated from the PRA Board to the NEDA Board via Aquino’s Executive Order No. 146. The order cited that “there is a need to ensure that reclamation initiatives or projects are coordinated and integrated at the national and regional levels of development planning and programming, consistent with established national priorities of the government, and synchronized with development planning, programming, and budgeting.”

Literal said applications “lag” with the PRA as the recommending body and proponents do not want to push the approval with NEDA because of the composition of the NEDA Board. It’s difficult to get projects approved with the NEDA Board because a lot of secretaries are members, he added.

“Perhaps, they (proponent agency and private entities) fear the challenges involved in presenting or evaluating the project before the NEDA board. So, I believe that’s a significant issue or aspect of obtaining approval through NEDA that has become somewhat challenging for project proponents,” the lawyer said.

The NEDA Board includes the president along with heads of several other agencies like the Department of Budget and Management, Department of Finance, Department of Energy, Department of Public Works and Highways and many more.

Aside from other requirements, projects should only be approved if it has secured an Area Clearance and ECC from the DENR as reiterated in EO 74, so the AC and ECC are crucial.

While Duterte’s EO delegated the power of the president to approve reclamation projects to the PRA Governing Board it maintained the president’s authority to “modify, amend, or nullify the actions of the PRA Governing Board.”

Fisherfolk group Ang Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) believes that Duterte’s authority expanded to accommodate more developers because of the transfer of PRA under his office.

“The approval of projects became broader and faster when they were transferred to Duterte, and PRA has practically done nothing but announce areas where reclamation is possible, so developers keep applying,” said Pamalakaya Chairperson Fernando Hicap.

Environmental lawyer Atty. Antonio La Viña said that the round-robin of PRA’s authority reflects how the government has no consistency when it comes to development projects and fulfilling its role as duty-bearers in protecting the environment.

“No wonder you have this problem. There is no predictability, no consistency, no institutional record of how decisions are made,” said La Viña.