The Legality of the Manila Bay Project and the Need for an Environmental Compliance Certificate: A THREAD

PD 1586 requires Environmentally Critical Projects and Areas (ECPs and ECAs) to obtain an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) by submitting an Environmental Impact Assesment (EIA)

Environmentally Critical Areas, according to the DENR Administrative Order 03-30, include "areas set aside as aesthetic tourist spots" and "areas of unique .... historical interests", among others

According to Executive Order No. 69 s.1999, Manila Bay and its foreshore area has been declared as a special tourist zone.

Moreover, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines declared the Manila Bay a National Historical Landmark in its Resolution no. 19, s. 2012

This project, in addition to being potentially environmentally hurtful and economically wasteful, is an illegal act, which makes this statement by the DENR very frustrating and outright misleading.

In summary: the dumping of white sand in Manila Bay without an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) is illegal and, worse, a hard slap on the faces of our environmental scientists and engineers in the Philippines!

I would be remiss not to mention the article by Infrawatch PH for inspiring this :) http://www.infrawatchph.com/2020/09/07/ecc-exemption-for-manila-bay-white-sand-project-violates-denrs-own-regulations/

Again, reminding everyone that SCIENCE SHOULD NOT GIVE WAY FOR POLITICS