MANILA, Philippines — Around 200 leaders and members of fisherfolk, urban poor, women and environmental groups yesterday launched Manila Baywatch, a watchdog alliance that aims to monitor developments in the government’s rehabilitation and reclamation programs for Manila Bay. “Genuine rehabilitation for Manila Bay should be building livable housing for waterway and coastal communities, not threatening them with de facto eviction. Manila Bay’s waters should be restored fit for fisherfolk, not for destructive land reclamation,” said Leon Dulce, national coordinator of Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment and spokesperson for Manila Baywatch. Dulce said AO 16 is focused on relocating communities and has “little to no plan” to protect watershed and coastal ecosystems. We will crowd-source citizen science from communities in Bataan down to Cavite to push for genuine rehab solutions, and strengthen the basis of our opposition to reclamation projects,” Dulce said.

Source: Philippine Star February 22, 2019 13:18 UTC