Civil society coalition slams anti-poor Manila Bay reclamation project

Manila Bay Para sa Tao slams anti-poor reclamation project

A group composed of fisherfolk, non-government, women, urban poor, student organizations, and other civil society groups marched to the Department of Agriculture (DA) office today to campaign against the over 24,000-hectare reclamation of Manila Bay that is said to affect over 200,000 fisher families.

According to Manila Bay Para sa Tao, the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), which is designated to safeguard the rights of local fishers under the Fisheries Code or Republic Act No. 10654, is mum to the issue of the massive Manila Bay reclamation and its grave impacts to fisher communities and the environment.

PANGISDA-Pilipinas, an organization advocating for the interests of small-scale fishers, maintained that the Manila Bay Reclamation Project is undoubtedly an attack against the poorest sector of the country—the fisherfolk. The conversion of fishing grounds to industrial and commercial use is tantamount to various forms of displacement and uprooting of small fishers from their very source of livelihood, identity, and life.

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