Unified Manila Bay reclamation pushed

Manila Bay. INQUIRER PHOTO/BOY ABING

The government should consider a unified Manila Bay reclamation master plan to address metropolitan concerns like flooding, informal settling and heavy traffic instead of allowing a series of piece-meal projects at the local government unit (LGU) level, the chief urban planner of Ayala Land Inc. said.

A bay-wide reclamation would create a national asset that would serve public interest and involve not only Metro Manila but also the adjoining provinces of Bataan, Pampanga, Bulacan and Cavite, according to ALI senior vice president and head for urban and regional planning Arturo Corpuz.

“Why not use the resources for a very specific objective and that is to address metropolitan problems to make your cities more competitive?” Corpuz said in a interview with the Inquirer.

A reclamation master plan for the entire bay, Corpuz said, could address worsening traffic in the port area.

In February, the city government of Manila passed an ordinance imposing a ban on eight-wheeler trucks weighing more than 4,500 kilos between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. in an apparent bid to ease traffic as construction starts on key tollroad projects such as those linking the north and south Luzon expressways. Days later, truckers were given a window to operate between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. while two 24/7 express trade lanes were also opened for their exclusive use on Roxas Boulevard and on Quirino Avenue-Osmeña Highway and South Superhighway.

Corpuz, who has a master’s degree and doctorate in urban and regional planning from Cornell University, said it would make more sense for Metro Manila to link the reclamation project to infrastructure imperatives like road-building, flood control, resettlement of informal settlers or storm surge projects or even airport linkage.

Since such a master plan would involve multiple regions beyond the jurisdiction of Metro Manila, he said it was logical that the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) should draft the project. A good example, he said, would be how the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) developed the Fort Bonifacio master plan.

“[It’s the state that must say] this is how we do it. We maximize values. The objective is to raise money and allocate proceeds and then bid it out to private sector,” Corpuz said.

Based on Executive Order 146 issued by President Aquino in November 2013, the power to approve reclamation projects was delegated to the Neda Board, which is chaired by the President. The Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) will process, evaluate and recommend the approval of all proposed reclamation projects to the Neda Board.

But the risk was that once President Aquino steps down from office, Corpuz said the approval process could easily be changed by the next chief executive. “LGUs can now again do it on their own if the next president isn’t firm [on keeping EO 146],” he said.

ALI is one of the more vocal groups opposing Pasay City’s project to reclaim 300 hectares of Manila Bay, a P54.5-billion project awarded to SM Land Inc. as original proponent under the unsolicited proposal mode. A project of a similar scale was awarded to SM by the city of Parañaque.

SM’s project in Pasay is still under review by the PRA. The proposal to reclaim another 300 hectares of land within the jurisdiction of Parañaque was recently been approved by the city’s public-private partnership (PPP) selection committee and duly endorsed by the city mayor.