Patricia Marie C.

Guila

CERP 101-E

LPPCHEA x BGC

According to Ramsar Convention (2013), there are seven of over 2,200 identified
wetlands in the world that can be found in the Philippines. These are the Puerto
Princesa Subterranean River National Park in Palawan; the Tubbataha Reefs
National Marine Park in Sulu; the Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Agusan del Sur;
the Naujan Lake National Park in Oriental Mindoro; the Olango Island Wildlife
Sanctuary in Cebu; the Negros Occidental Coastal Wetlands Conservation Area in
Negros Occidental; and lastly,the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and
Eco-Tourism Area or commonly known as LPPCHEA. The focus of this paper will be
about the last one. Among these wetlands, only LPPCHEA is in an urban area—in
Metro Manila. It is a 175-hectare wetland park and a protected area with mangroves,
ponds and lagoons, mudflats, salt marshes and mixed beach forests. It is located at
the coastline of Las Piñas and Parañaque cities. It provides habitat for many
migratory bird species, including the three endangered species —the Philippine duck,
Chinese egret and the black-winged stilt. But LPPCHEA cannot escape the aftermath
of urbanization.

The importance of having wetlands is an indicator of a healthy environment. For

LPPCHEA, it implies more—it will be built as a recreation center to attract tourists and
visitors alike. So, in 2011 Alltech Contractors Inc. was issued an environmental
clearance certificate (ECC) for the Parañaque-Las Piñas Coastal Bay Project Land
Reclamation that had caused an uproar among environmentalists and conservation
groups. But Cynthia Villar together with late DENR Secretary Regina Paz Lopez
assured that the ECC of the company was cancelled due to its potential harm to the
environment. If ever that reclamation continued, floods will take over not just in Metro
Manila but also its neighboring city like Cavite. Based on the news conference lead by
Mr. Rey Aguinaldo of the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources-National Capital Region (DENR-NCR), more than 30 hectares of the
area’s mangrove forest can stop a storm surge. It acts like a strong shield for any
upcoming storms that will protect its range and the people in it.

Another environmental issue that LPPCHEA is facing today is the tons of garbage. As
reported by AllHome Corporation on September 03, 2019, A total of 1,421 kilograms
of garbage were collected in a clean-up drive conducted at LPPCHEA. The 155 sacks
of trash collected around 300-meter beach forest of LPPCHEA’s Freedom Island
included 69 sacks of plastic, 22 sacks of rubber, 19 sacks of styrofoam, 9 sacks of
glass, 21 sacks of plastic bottles and 15 sacks of other forms of garbage. It is both a
good and bad news at the same time, good news knowing that there are companies
and organizations that aim to address environmental issue like this AllHome
Corporation where more than 150 employees from different parts of the country
participated in the clean-up activity as part of the company’s aim to address “relevant
social and environmental issues” and reduce “the carbon footprint not just of its stores,
but the communities it operates in.” But sad to know that, discipline in proper disposal
of garbage is still absent in most of the Filipinos and our environment will be the one
who will be at risk without even realizing we are at risk by what we are doing, too.

'Wetlands for a sustainable urban future' is the theme of local observance of the
international celebration for the World Wetlands Day held at LPPCHEA. It aims to
emphasize the importance of preserving wetlands in the midst of rapid urbanization,
and to raise awareness of the vital role that they provide in making urban areas safe,
resilient and sustainable as envisioned in our Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs). The ceremony was led by Senator Cynthia Villar who pointed out that
“Wetland conservation should be part of sustainable urban development plans.”
Furthermore, Villar said that green technology and urban development became twin
partners in the worldwide vision and that the Philippines and its leaders should and
must learn to adapt to international efforts so we can grow alongside the world and
not be left behind. She also cited that urban wetlands play significant functions in
flood control, groundwater replenishment, shoreline stabilisation and storm protection,
water purification, reservoirs of biodiversity, recreation and tourism and climate
change mitigation and adaptation. In line with this, I can agree that in striving for
urbanization we must keep in mind the conservation and protection of our
environment specifically the wetlands because they play a vital role in all aspects.

Aside from LPPCHEA in Las Piñas and Parañaque, Metro Manila has a
highly-urbanized district where business interests and quality of life have effectively
became a commodity and that is the Bonifacio Global City. It is part of Taguig but
Makati and Pateros are taking claim of it. BGC is owned by Ayala Malls, a
real-estate subsidiary of Ayala Land, which is an affiliate of Ayala Corporation.
According to The Bag Inspector (2017), Bonifacio Global City is incorporated to the
famous Hippodamian Plan. The Hippodamian Plan is generated by an ancient Greek
architect and the father of urban planning, Hippodamus. Similar to his master plan,
Bonifacio Global City encompasses the characteristics and features of the
Hippodamian Plan – which seamlessly combined the residential, business, and public
spaces with a well-organized traffic system and a contemporary road network. While
further researching about BGC, I cannot help but to be amazed that this kind of city is
in the Philippines, some says it is like living in New York or any other foreign
highly-urbanized cities. But still, no city is a perfect city. There are also challenges
faced by BGC regarding urbanization.

BGC has been criticized also with the problems of urbanization. A 2014 Asian
Development Bank (ADB) report mentioned that “cities in the Philippines are
confronting urban problems such as congestion, overcrowding, poor quality of life,
and rapidly growing poor urban communities.” But in the case of BGC those urban
problems do not match on them. It is inapplicable. However, There are a number of
underlying issues affecting urbanization such as fragmented institutional
arrangements for urban development and metropolitan governance, and major
shortcomings in land administration and management. The resulting impacts of these
issues, coupled with rapid urbanization, have greatly hampered city competitiveness,
job creation, poverty reduction and livability.

In conclusion, I will cite what Baker and Watanabe (2019), “If key stakeholders in the
Philippines, namely government, the private sector, and civil society -working in
partnership - can take on these challenges with a needed urgency for action starting
with top priorities, there is so much that is possible. Cities can indeed become
engines for competitive, sustainable and inclusive growth, giving residents new
opportunities with the potential for lasting impact. ”