MANILA, PH- For the past weeks, the issue of the Manila bay Rehabilitation that exploded has reached the ears and minds of both the general masses, as well as the scholars, with regards a certain project that the Manila City Hall is planning to establish. The scope of this issue would signify its importance and how it would affect the citizens of not just the National Capital Region (NCR), but may probably affect the whole country in the future.
The Reclamation of Manila Bay is a project that has been approved by the Mayor of the City of Manila, Joseph Estrada for the construction of a P100-billion commercial district in Manila Bay. A span of 419 hectares, amounting to 3 140-hectare islands will be constructed serving as the city’s port area and this project is a joint venture agreement with the J Bros. Construction Corporation, which was executed by the city government on the 24th of April and the signing of a memorandum of understanding on 1st of June. In terms of revenue, 56.8% would go to the J. Bros Corporation and 43.2% to the city government and it was also stated that of the 419-hectare commercial district, it would be divided between the city government and the developer as the 181 hectares would be given to the Manila City Government while the other 238 hectares would be allotted to the developer. With that being said, the question of whether or not this project would benefit the citizens of the Philippines or if the agreement would serve as another ploy for the perpetuating exercise of graft and corruption by dirty politicians.
As a citizen of the Philippines, it would be highly encouraged that the Filipinos provide their contribution to the improvement of the well-being of our country and its citizens. Various social movements have already risen up in order to oppose the reclamation. One of the most notable of events was on the 12th of February where more than 3,000 individuals formed a human-chain along Manila Bay in order to express their love of Manila Bay and their opposition to the reclamation project, all while experiencing the beauty of the sunset near Manila Bay. Friends, Strangers, Employees, Students, and people from all aspects of life have come together, bringing placards and posters, exhibiting various forms of art that expresses their heart-warming disagreement with the proposed and signed project. Aside from the aforementioned activity, there was also the online petition circulating in order to convince the City Council of Manila to ban and halt all projects with regards to the reclamation in Manila Bay. This call for participation serves to call on more citizens to oppose and reject the building of the 419-hectare commercial district and the reclamation of Manila Bay.
Somehow, these activities of contention and opposition are to be expected because firstly, Manila Bay holds an important emotional and cultural value to the hearts of the Filipino People. Tourists and Locals know well of this body of water as a place of romance and a place that holds a familiar feeling of home. Second, this project would only worsen the city’s current situation with flooding. The reformed land from the bay would create a bowl-like structure that would trap floodwater. Manila City, over the years had been plagued by the constant attacks of flash floods, suffering damages from heavier traffic to the destruction of homes and the spread of disease. However, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada has promised more jobs and economic growth for the Filipino citizens since according to the January 2018 Labour Force Survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority, 70,897 (in 000) of which are from the population of 15 years old and over, 94.7% are employed while 5.3% are unemployed, and 18.0% are underemployed. And according to the survey, the region with the lowest employment rates are from the National Capital Region, showcasing a 92.2%. If this would be the case, then it would fulfil the promise of the Manila City government to provide more jobs and eventually, solve the issue of unemployment and underemployment.
Now that all of the facts and statistics have been presented, the question would still stand if the Filipinos should support or oppose the reclamation project. This would be quite the dilemma since the Philippine government has their own reputation of being a system filled with unfulfilled promises. Therefore, would we practice the idea of the prevention being better than the cure. Nevertheless, there is also the question of would the government listen to the woes of the common people, or would they push another personal agenda for personal monetary purposes or for political ascension? May this article serve as a call for action but may it also be an eye-opener that would eventually lead to the realization that there are other ways of providing the people with jobs without causing any further damage involving our environment and putting the people at great risk when a disaster strikes the ever-resilient but disaster-magnet country of ours.
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