President Marcos has suspended all 22 reclamation projects. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is now asked to review their impact as well as the process leading to the approval of their environmental compliance certificates of ECC, which the DENR issues before such projects can proceed.
Is this an early victory for nature?
This marks just the initial phase in affording nature an opportunity to thrive and halting all reclamation endeavors. The subsequent measure involves promptly enacting an Executive Order or legislation that unequivocally bars any form of reclamation initiatives.
The reclamation activities have been criticized not only for obstructing the famous sunset over the bay but also for destroying the livelihoods of fishing communities and, more recently, for aggravating flooding notably in the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga.
