As lockdown ends, activists brace to resume fight over Manila Bay reclamation
May 25, 2020 11:52 pm
LEILANI CHAVEZ, SUSAN CLAIRE AGBAYANI; Mongabay
MANILA — Land reclamation projects in Manila Bay are expected to resume once Metro Manila transitions from lockdown this month, some part of President Rodrigo Duterte’s flagship “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program.
In early April, Duterte said he was willing to sell government properties to fund his administration’s pandemic response, including allowing reclamation projects in Manila Bay that he’d previously opposed in exchange for rice and cash.
“Our reserves can only last for a few months,” Duterte said on April 6. “I am willing to sell the whole Dewey Boulevard for whoever wants to reclaim [the land around it]. Give me rice and I will approve that even if I don’t agree to reclamation.”
Categorised in: News