GOOD MORNING AND THANK YOU FOR JOINING US AT THE SECOND ROUND OF THE DENR MULTISTAKEHOLDER EXPERTS DIALOGUE ON RECLAMATION.

THE PHILIPPINES’ SOCIOECONOMIC AGENDA FOCUSES ON ENSURING FOOD SECURITY, IMPROVING INFRASTRUCTURE, PURSUING A GREEN AND BLUE ECONOMY, AND ESTABLISHING LIVABLE AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES. THIS SHALL BE PURSUED ALONG THREE OUTCOMES: SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT PROMOTED, ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY IMPROVED, AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT UPGRADED GUIDED BY THE PRINCIPLES OF EQUITY, INCLUSIVITY, RESILIENCE, AND SUSTAINABILITY.

RECLAMATION IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE THAT MUST BE ADDRESSED FROM A LENS THAT CONSIDERS THE INTERSECTIONALITY BETWEEN ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS, SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND BUILT ENVIRONMENTS, AND THE COSTS AND BENEFITS OF THESE ACTIVITIES. RECLAMATION DECISIONS MUST CONSIDER INTERACTIONS BETWEEN LAND, AIR AND SEA – AND THE MULTITUDE OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS FROM PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY OF WATER, BIODIVERSITY, AND THE DEMAND FOR SOURCES OF FOOD, POWER AND WATER. THESE DYNAMICS AND THEIR COMPLEXITIES REQUIRE A SYSTEMS LENS THAT INCORPORATES CUMULATIVE IMPACT ASSESSMENTS AND NOT AN EVALUATION OF INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS AS THEY PRESENT THEMSELVES AND STAND SINGLY AND ALONE.

THE LEGAL AND REGULATORY CONTEXT OF THESE ACTIVITIES MUST ALSO BE PARAMOUNT IN CONSIDERATION. THE MOST IMPORTANT AND RELEVANT TO THIS FORUM IS THE MANILA BAY MANDAMUS RULING WHEREIN THE SUPREME COURT ORDERED THIRTEEN (13) AGENCIES, WITH THE DENR AS THE LEAD, TO CLEAN, AND REHABILITATE TO PRESERVE THE WATERS OF MANILA BAY, AND TO RESTORE AND MAINTAIN ITS WATERS TO A LEVEL FIT FOR COMMERCIAL PROPAGATION OF SHELLFISH AND A SPAWNING AREA FOR MILKFISH. ASIDE FROM THESE, IT MUST BE FIT FOR SWIMMING, SKIN DIVING AND OTHER FORMS OF RECREATION.

ASIDE FROM THE DENR, THE DILG, THE DOH, DPWH, MMDA, DEPED, THE DA, DBM, PNP MARITIME GROUP, MWSS AND PPA HAVE SPECIFIC ROLES TO PLAY IN THAT RULING, AND IN IMPLEMENTING THIS ORDER. THE AREAS COVERED BY THIS ORDER ENCOMPASS LGUS FROM METRO MANILA, RIZAL, LAGUNA, CAVITE, BULACAN, PAMPANGA AND BATAAN. YOU WILL HEAR MORE ABOUT THE SUPREME COURT MANDAMUS ORDER AND THE ROLES AND DELIVERABLES OF EACH OF THESE MANDAMUS AGENCIES LATER THIS MORNING. THIS IS A “CONTINUING” ORDER, AND THAT MEANS IT STANDS UNTIL COMPLIED WITH. FAILURE TO COMPLY WOULD RESULT IN THE AGENCIES BEING DECLARED IN CONTEMPT OF THE SUPREME COURT.

ASIDE FROM THE OBLIGATIONS OF ALL AGENCIES UNDER THE MANDAMUS, THE COMPOUNDED RISKS DUE TO HAZARDS SUCH AS LIQUEFACTION AND TSUNAMI FROM THE MOVEMENTS IN THE MANILA TRENCH, THE WEST VALLEY FAULT AND OTHER FAULT SYSTEMS AFFECTING THE REGION, THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE WHICH INCLUDE RISING SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURES, SEA LEVEL RISE, THE PROJECTED INCREASE IN THE INTENSITY OF TROPICAL CYCLONES AND EXTREME RAINFALL EVENTS AND THE EXPOSURE TO STORM SURGE AND FLOODING, MUST ALSO BE FACTORED INTO THE CUMULATIVE IMPACT ASSESSMENTS AND THE RESILIENCE ANALYTICS.

THE PHILIPPINES IS EXPOSED TO MULTIPLE HAZARDS INCLUDING EARTHQUAKES AND EXTREME WEATHER. RAPID AND SLOW ONSET EVENTS THAT ALREADY RESULT IN INLAND FLOODING MUST BE CONSIDERED IN CONSIDERING ANY RECLAMATION PROJECT IN THIS AREA. SHOULD THEIR ELEVATION BE HIGHER THAN THE ZERO ELEVATION OF MUCH OF MANILA BAY’S SUBSIDING COASTAL AREAS, FLOOD WATERS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DRAIN EFFICIENTLY INTO THE BAY. ANY RECLAMATION WILL HAVE IMPACTS ON THE PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL FEATURES OF THE BAY. THEREFORE, ANY CONSIDERATION GIVEN TO THE CREATION OF NEW LAND AREAS AND THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THEY POTENTIALLY WOULD BRING ABOUT, MUST HAVE THE GREATER PUBLIC INTEREST AS ITS PRIORITY AND THE PUBLIC GOOD AS ITS MAIN RESULT. THIS MEANS THAT COASTAL AND URBAN CLIMATE AND DISASTER RESILIENCE NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED THROUGH MITIGATION, ADAPTATION AND DISASTER RISK REDUCTION FROM MULTIPLE HAZARDS – NATURAL AND MAN-MADE – ORIGINATING FROM LAND AND SEA.

FURTHER ON HAZARDS, IT MUST BE NOTED THAT IN METRO MANILA’S EARTHQUAKE IMPACT STUDY, THE WEST VALLEY FAULT’S 7.2 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE SCENARIO PROVIDES FOR A REGIONAL SEPARATION INTO FOUR QUADRANTS OF METRO MANILA DUE TO COLLAPSED ROADS AND BRIDGES. ALL CITIES FACING MANILA BAY WILL BE ISOLATED BY THEIR LOCATION IN QUADRANT 1, OR METRO MANILA WEST WHICH IS COMPRISED OF MANILA, MALABON, NAVOTAS AND THE WESTERN PART OF PASAY, AND IN QUADRANTS 2 AND 4 WHICH INCLUDE VALENZUELA AND PASAY – LAS PIÑAS – PARANAQUE, RESPECTIVELY. DUE TO THE FORESEEN DESTRUCTION OF REGIONAL AND URBAN LAND TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE, SEARCH AND RESCUE AND RELIEF OPERATIONS UNDER OPLAN YAKAL PLUS TO THESE CITIES AND THE REST OF METRO MANILA WERE PLANNED TO COME EITHER BY AIR OR BY SEA, PRINCIPALLY THROUGH MANILA BAY. WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF DETERMINING WHETHER THESE CONCERNS WERE CONSIDERED IN THE PERMITTING PROCESS FOR ALL RECLAMATION PROJECTS.

HAVING SAID THAT, RECLAMATION CAN INDEED SERVE A BENEFICIAL PURPOSE. THERE ARE SOME SUCCESSFUL EXAMPLES ALL OVER THE WORLD THAT INCLUDE, FOR EXAMPLE, MUCH OF THE CITY OF ROTTERDAM, NEW LAND FOR TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE AND URBAN EXPANSION IN BOSTON, UNITED STATES, SINGAPORE, JAPAN AND UNITED ARAB EMIRATES. IT IS ALSO TO BE NOTED THAT THE AREAS OF INTRAMUROS, LUNETA AND THE CCP COMPLEX ARE LIKEWISE RECLAIMED. IN EACH OF THESE AREAS, HOWEVER, THE LEVEL OF INVESTMENT IN TERMS OF TIME, SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE, PLANNING, EVALUATION AND MANAGEMENT WAS ACHIEVED THROUGH CRITICAL AND EXTENSIVE COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS, AND IT WAS MAINTAINED THROUGH STRONG SCIENCE-INFORMED LEADERSHIP AND RISK GOVERNANCE.

PREVENTION, REDUCTION AND MANAGEMENT OF RISK IS REQUIRED FOR INCLUSIVE AND RESILIENT DEVELOPMENT – AND THIS SHOULD BE TOP OF MIND FOR ALL STAKEHOLDERS IN THIS IMPORTANT AND CONTENTIOUS ISSUE. THIS DENR HAS ADOPTED THE MITIGATION HIERARCHY AS A GUIDE TO OUR DECISIONS. THIS IS A FRAMEWORK THAT STARTS WITH AVOIDING, OR AT LEAST MINIMIZING ANY NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS DUE TO OUR ACTIVITIES, THE REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED AREAS, AND FOR TRULY UNAVOIDABLE DISRUPTIONS – A COMBINATION OF REHABILITATION TO THE LEVEL POSSIBLE AND INVESTMENTS IN COMPENSATION AND OFFSETS INVOLVING ADJACENT ECOSYSTEMS, COMMUNITIES AND HIGH VALUE BIODIVERSITY AREAS.

DURING THE FIRST ROUND OF THIS DIALOGUE WITH EXPERTS, ADVOCATES, ACADEMICS, AND PRIVATE PRACTITIONERS, WE FOCUSED ON THE TECHNICAL AND GOVERNANCE ASPECTS OF RECLAMATION. IT WAS AN INITIAL CONSULTATION TO CAPTURE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AS YOU HEARD FROM USEC CUNA, FROM SECTORS, EXPERIENCES, AND SCIENCE, AS WELL AS POLICY AND PRACTICE.

TODAY’S FORUM WILL FEATURE TECHNICAL EXPERTISE, NEXUS GOVERNANCE, AND THE INTERSECTING ECOLOGICAL, ENGINEERING, SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND SECURITY CHALLENGES IN THE FACE OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND OTHER HAZARDS.

THESE CONVERSATIONS ARE A WAY FOR THE DENR TO CONTINUE OUR DEEP DIVE AND ACCELERATE THE REVIEW OF BOTH POLICY AND PRACTICE OF ENVIRONMENTALLY-CRITICAL ISSUES SUCH AS RECLAMATION. I TRUST THAT THESE WILL PROMOTE THE TRANSPARENCY AND POSITIVE SYNERGIES NEEDED TO PURSUE THE BEST WAY FORWARD FOR ALL.

IN CLOSING, I REAFFIRM THE DENR’S COMMITMENT TO FULFILLING OUR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER THE LAW, AND TO BRINGING TO THE TABLE – AND I ACKNOWLEDGE DR. GIL JACINTO AS I HAVE ADAPTED THIS SAYING FROM HIS ORIGINAL PHRASE – THE SCIENCE AND THE GOVERNANCE THAT WE NEED FOR THE FUTURE THAT WE WANT.

THERE ARE DIFFERENT PATHWAYS TOWARDS INCLUSIVE, RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL JOIN AND SUPPORT US AT THE DENR ON THIS CHALLENGING BUT NECESSARY JOURNEY.

THANK YOU AND I LOOK FORWARD TO A MEANINGFUL DISCUSSION TODAY.
###