Parañaque local campaigns to lambast Freedom Islands Reclamation
Urban poor advocates asked help to put an end on the long battle against the reclamation of the the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA), also known as the Freedom Islands.
"I challenge you to get involved. Kapag may nag-umpisa, may magpapatuloy at may possible changes na mangyari," Save Freedom Island campaign director Glacy Macabale said in a forum at the Beato Angelico building last October 26.
Macabale called the attention of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to issue the promised moratorium on the reclamation of the Freedom Islands.
Dr. Arlen A. Ancheta, Vice President-Internal of the Mother Earth Foundation, said that the reclamation started with the construction of the Taft Avenue at the late 1900s as the Philippine government claimed the waters of the Manila Bay for economic development. As a result, floods and storm surges became a problem for the avenue.
Macabale blamed the newly established Cavite Expressway for the flooding of 14 baranggays in Bacoor, Cavite during times of rain.
"Kung hindi tayo gagawa ng aksyon, 'yung nararanasan nating pagbaha ngayon, possible na maging worse pa yan sa daraang taon," she argued.
The mangrove forest is composed of both the Long and Freedom islands which is a 175-hectare coastal land at the west side of the Cavite Coastal Road. It also covered the livelihood and housing of fishermen and became the habitat of local and migratory birds.
Macabale debunked the "positive" effects stated by the local government regarding the reclamation of the mangrove forest and pointed out that the dangers of migratory birds during airport flights, additional tax on the local government units, and the "additional livelihood" produced by the construction of the supposed future infrastructures were not real or temporary.
The Save Freedom Islands campaign manager also mentioned that the 23,000 families displaced last 2007 for previous reclamation projects of the government have received little to no benefit and were left with no choice but to go to Bacoor, Cavite and places around Manila with uncertain livelihood choices.
"Ang nanganganib na nawalan ng kabuhayan at tirahan ay ang mga mangingisda ng Parañaque," she said.
Macabale denied the accusation of the LGUs that the urban poor was responsible for the polluted waters of the Manila Bay and suggested a new way to do so.
"Ang kailangan gawin ay tanggalin ang mga companies at factories na nagtatapon ng chemical waste sa Manila Bay," Macabale said and further explained that fish pens do not create waste as they are just bamboo poles sticking at the ocean.
The mangrove forest, which is the last wetland in Manila, faced cases of reclamation from previous administrations that begun from the late Ferdinand Marcos' administration until today which has a "grandiose plan" to reclaim hectares of the Manila Bay to transform into an economic avenue.
The reclamation of Freedom Islands was said to affect the remaining 37 hectares of Mangrove Forests in the area, the habitat of 80 species of local and migratory birds, the livelihood of the fisherfolk communities and the flooding conditions in the area as it seals the normal exit points of water during rain.
The forum, Free the Freedom Islands, is an advocacy for the island's preservation that campaigned for the cancellation of the reclamation of the Freedom Islands.###
