‘Give Bulacan fisherfolk hope by standing for truth and integrity’ – church leaders

ALBAY, Philippines – Anyone in this situation could use someone to lean on: Seeing roving armed men in military uniforms, giving people an ultimatum to stay until June, having mangrove trees cut down, and fighting a project which would eject communities but had no public overall plan and a quiet local government making matters worse. 

Religious leaders and members from different denominations recognized that, as they held a unity action on Wednesday, January 15, in barangay Taliptip in Bulakan town via an ecumenical service. Among them were priests from United Methodist Church and Catholic church from Bulacan dioceses and parishes.

“We gathered today to show our continued moral support for fisherfolk communities that will be displaced by San Miguel Corporation’s aerotropolis project in barangay Taliptip,” said Fr. Celso Dilig from Diocese of Bataan-Bulacan.

According to the barangay office of Taliptip, 7 coastal sitios – with an estimated population of 1,102 – will be directly affected by the airport project. These are Capol, Bunutan, Pariahan, Kinse, Dapdap, Capis and Camansi.

However, details regarding their relocation site remain unknown. The same goes for the project’s design plan, its mitigation measures, and other information the public should know about the ambitious airport project.

Sitio Dapdap resident Evangelyn Elorde said, “We are worried about what will happen to us. Until now we don’t know where we will relocate and if we’ll have a livelihood there, adding that what we truly want is to stay.”

Yet, SMC had given them an ultimatum. In an earlier interview, Elorde said that a lawyer from SMC visited them on December 21 with armed policemen and told them to leave by June because they need the land. “For us who will not choose cash, we’ll have to stay in an evacuation site until further notice,” she added.

The religious leaders prayed the residents would continue to hope by assuring them they would always be one with their struggle.

They also called on fellow locals to join their brothers and sisters in Taliptip to stand for truth, especially as they seem to be left in the dark. They also called for the project proponent and their local leaders “to recognize these struggles by making pro-people decisions, like Jesus who answered the people in need through mercy.”

Doing so, the group said, does not mean going against development, but rather helping ensure that the lives of humans and animals, as well as the environment is sustained.

Struggle against militarization

Inday Masurca, a resident of sitio Kinse, said the presence of armed men in military uniforms in their community worried them.

According to her, the alleged military group onboard two boats had been roaming in their communities since December 28 with the latest just this morning. “They wanted to check the area for an encampment and warned us of outsiders frequenting our community,” she said.

Masurca found no threat from outsiders, however. She said they welcomed students, professors, scientists, documentarists and journalists and would do so again.

“They told us the same reason in Sitio Dapdap,” said Elod.

Struggle against devious “development” project

Fisherfolk group leaders, civil society, and religious leaders in Bulacan urged the region’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) to release the copy of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) report of Silvertides Holdings, which bought the fishponds in Taliptip for land development.

But EMB Director Lormelyn Claudio denied their request. Claudio said it fell under the exceptions of their Freedom of Information (FOI) manual. However, she clarified that it is Silvertides (which is SMC’s contractor) that has an environmental compliance certificate (ECC), not the airport project. Silvertides also said their project was different from SMC’s aerotropolis.

For atty Jennifer Ramos of Oceana Philippines, the EMB had gone overboard in doing that.

“We checked their manual and it’s not part of the exception, neither was it in the President’s Executive Order,” she said.

The barangay office of Taliptip also doesn’t have a copy of the EIS, when it is supposed to have one. Both the municipal and provincial office, however, did not respond to our interview request.

“Isn’t this deception, where Ramon Ang (SMC president) was claiming that the airport project was underway yet there was no permit certifying its environmental impact?,” Rodel Alvarez of Pamalakaya-Bulacan said.

SMC also did not apply for a permit from the Philippine Reclamation Authority when it involved reclamation of coastal areas, said Ramos. She also emphasized the fishponds can only be leased, not bought.

“For a project of that scale, the impact will be enormous and should be well known, determined and communicated,” said Dutch water management expert Dr Janjaap Brinkman, who is also the consultant for the Manila Bay Sustainable Development Master Plan (MBSDMP).

“This is a task and responsibility of the proponents,” he said. So far only very little information is available, however.

As Elod put it, “it’s not only us that will be affected by this project but also the entire province and nearby cities by food degradation, flooding and other life-threatening disasters.” – Rappler.com