The petition filed before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is clear, urgent, and moral: halt the proposed Manila Bay reclamation projects before it inflicts irreversible harm on the people, the heritage, and the environment.
This, in a nutshell, is the call of a broad coalition of church groups, environmental advocates, fisherfolk, youth organizations, and civil society leaders to the President, urging him to stop 10 reclamation projects in Manila Bay planned between Rizal Park and the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Their message resonates with scientific warnings and actual experiences—reclamation threatens to worsen flooding, trigger environmental disasters, and place countless lives at risk.
Flooding has become routine, not exceptional, with even moderate rains paralyzing Metro Manila. Reclamation will only make this worse. Filling vast portions of Manila Bay with artificial land blocks natural waterways and drainage routes, effectively turning the bay from a buffer into a bottleneck. Higher reclaimed land will push floodwaters inland—into communities least equipped to cope.
Even the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has rejected claims that reclamation can reduce flooding. On the contrary, scientific assessments warn of disrupted water circulation, elevated flood levels, and altered tidal flows. The long-delayed cumulative impact assessment—essential for any responsible decision—has already raised red flags. Proceeding without fully disclosing and heeding its findings would be reckless governance.
The dangers go beyond floodwaters. Manila Bay’s wetlands, mudflats, and coastal ecosystems are natural reservoirs that serve as buffers for storms, absorb flood spikes, and filter pollutants. Destroying them strips Metro Manila of natural defenses at a time when climate change is intensifying storms and accelerating sea-level rise. Reclamation trades long-term resilience for short-term profit.
And bear in mind that Metro Manila is sinking; and reclamation will further exacerbate it. Excessive groundwater extraction and rapid subsidence—made worse by unplanned development—leave the land increasingly vulnerable to storm surges, liquefaction from earthquakes, and sudden inundation. And reclaimed land behaves like liquid during strong shaking. This is why the Big One, a projected 7.2 magnitude earthquake triggered by movement in the West Valley Fault, must also be taken into account.
Behind the data are human lives. Fisherfolk face the loss of fishing grounds that have sustained generations. Coastal communities confront higher tides and stronger floods. When disaster strikes, it is always the poor who suffer first and recover last. Reclamation deepens inequality by privileging elite commercial interests over public safety and livelihood.
Cultural heritage is also at stake. Rizal Park—a symbolic heart of the nation—and historic sites like the Rizal Park Hotel and the iconic Manila Hotel risk being overshadowed or constrained by luxury real estate and engineered highways. These are public treasures, not collateral damage in real-estate ventures.
President Marcos has launched anti-flood initiatives and spoken of disaster preparedness. Allowing reclamation to proceed would undermine those very efforts. Clearing waterways on land while blocking them at sea is a contradiction the country can ill afford.
The Supreme Court’s continuing mandamus on Manila Bay obliges the state to rehabilitate and protect the bay. Allowing bay reclamation defies the ruling. To ignore science, sideline communities, and gamble with safety would betray both the Constitution and the public trust.
Manila Bay has sustained the nation for centuries. The bay’s health is our health; its resilience will define our resilience. It is now pushing back against abuse.
President Marcos must listen to the pleas to stop reclamation as an affirmation that Filipino lives, heritage, and future are worth more than the short-term profits and concrete dreams. Leadership is not measured by how much land we create, but by how many lives we protect. He must act now.
