No way home: Bulacan airport displaces residents, disturbs marine life shelters

A few months ago, former fisherman Totoy Bacon was struggling to make a living along the coast of Taliptip, an extension of Manila Bay in Bulakan, Bulacan. Now, faced with higher fishing expenses and a dwindling fish catch, Bacon has completely given up the job he had been doing his entire life.

“Hindi nauubusan ng biyaya ang dagat,” he said, but since San Miguel Corp. (SMC) began constructing the Bulacan International Airport in 2020, Bacon has witnessed a steady decline in marine life and biodiversity in the area. 

His vivid recollection of Taliptip literally faded before his eyes. A once rich marine ecosystem and a known biodiversity hotspot is being transformed into the site of the country’s new ‘world-class’ airport.

“Meron talagang lugar doon na binabahayan ng mga isda sa parte ng ginagawang airport. Ngayon, ang dinadaing ng mga mangingisda, mahina talaga panghuhuli dahil laging nadadali ng sama ng tubig sa dagat,” he added.

“Kung wala talagang hanapbuhay sa dagat, talagang mapipilitan akong magtrabaho sa pangpang,” he said. Now, due to the current situation in Taliptip, Bacon has grabbed the opportunity to work a different job more than 260 kilometers away from home. 

Unlike him, 54-year-old fisherman Primitivo Canceran Jr. has continued fishing despite the declining condition of the sea. 

“Tatlong tao lang kasi ang kailangan,” he said, referring to Bacon’s work opportunity in Zambales. If there had been more slots, Canceran added that he, too, would have left to work far from home. 

Of the hundreds of locals and fisherfolk displaced in Taliptip for the project, he and Bacon are among the six families who received housing compensation from SMC. They now reside in a compound in Bambang, a barangay just beside Taliptip, both affected by SMC’s new airport project. 

Canceran described life as more comfortable prior to the airport’s construction. Like most fishermen in the area, he made living through ‘pag-uumang’, a fishing method involving traps. Back then, he said, the sea had offered plenty of catch, including blue crabs, mud crabs, and shrimps. 

“Maganda ang kita nung araw kasi marami pang hayop na tumatabi roon. Hindi kagaya ngayon kasi natambakan na nga. Wala nang ganong hayop na tumatabi,” said Canceran, adding that his daily earnings have dropped to P300 to P500, significantly lower than his usual P1,000 before. 

According to OCEANA Philippines Vice President Gloria Ramos, marine species like sardinella pacifica, which thrive in specific waters like Manila Bay, are also at risk of losing their habitats due to the project’s impact on wetlands. These semi-aquatic ecosystems sustain both fish and waterbirds by providing food and shelter. 

“Itong Manila Bay ay traditional fishing ground, so nadi-displace ang mga isda kapag may ginagawang aktibidad na nakakasira sa ating marine ecosystems,” Ramos said.

Bulacan airport and controversies 

The Bulacan International Airport, also known as the New Manila International Airport, is a P740-billion project in Bulakan, Bulacan. It is powered by San Miguel Aerocity Inc., a subsidiary of SMC, under RA 11506, which grants the franchise to construct and develop the airport. The proposal dates back to 2017 but was only secured by the conglomerate two years later, in partnership with Dutch contractor Royal Boskalis. 

The airport promises significant benefits, including an initial capacity to serve 35 million passengers annually, expanding to 100 million when fully operational. It is also said to generate millions of jobs, stimulate economic growth, and improve transportation quality and accessibility.

Last July, Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista shared SMC’s vision for the transport facility, including enhanced commercial spaces to meet passenger needs and new expressways to ease traffic congestion.

“A world class airport means more jobs, more tourists, and a stronger and more prosperous Philippines,” Ang said.

Bautista added that Ang aims to improve the food selections in the new airport to accommodate the varying taste of passengers while still highlighting Filipino cuisine.

“Gusto ng San Miguel, yung magkaroon ng food court na nandoon lahat. Gusto nila i-showcase natin yung Filipino food,” said Bautista.

SMC promised that every facility in the airport would be coherent and ready to accommodate rapid volumes of passengers with more convenience.

Ang also assured the administration that he will go beyond the agreed performance and facilities of the airport without costing the government more money, saying: “I will build a bigger terminal than what is agreed on in the concession agreement, without additional cost to the government.”

Despite these ambitious goals, the project has faced controversies since its proposal. In 2023, Global Witness reported that SMC received approval for the project even before securing an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. An ECC ensures that a project will not cause significant environmental harm based on a thorough assessment.

Instead of undergoing the normal process, San Miguel allegedly bypassed legal requirements by acquiring Silvertides Holdings in July 2019 and using its ECC, which was originally issued for a separate land development project. The ECC and its public consultation did not cover the airport project’s scope or disclose San Miguel’s involvement as the developer. 

San Miguel denied this accusation and got their own ECC in 2021. The conglomerate clarified that the ECC acquired by Silvertides on June 14, 2019 was in fact for the reclaiming of the land in Bulacan which will later be used as the main site for the airport’s construction. Meanwhile, the  ECC for the Bulacan Airport itself was secured on June 1, 2021, and this was mainly for the construction of the airport itself and other sequences that will assist it. 

Environmental groups argue that the project’s site lies within the ‘strict protection zone’ identified in the Manila Bay Sustainable Master Plan. Without formal legislation designating parts of Manila Bay as protection zones, these areas remain vulnerable.

Under the law, protection zones should only allow limited human activity, such as scientific research and ceremonial practices by indigenous peoples. However, without formal ratification of the Master Plan and additional legislation designating parts of Manila Bay as strict protection zones, these areas remain at risk.

The Master Plan highlights that building the international airport would worsen the already fragile ecosystem. It emphasizes that the site is already under pressure from unsustainable economic activities, land subsidence, and rising sea levels.

Mangroves lost result in fewer shelters for waterbirds

Before SMC arrived in Taliptip, Bacon recalled the area being full of trees. “Sa loob, parang isla. Ngayon, wala ng mga puno; wala na rin yung mga bahay. Di pa naman naaabot ng tambak – kaya lang, puro tubig na tsaka wala ng puno… Andun pa rin yung lugar. Kung baga sa ano, lubog na nga lang,” he said. 

According to a local report, over 600 mangrove trees have been cut down by SMC since 2018. Although SMC denied involvement, residents claim that those who kickstarted the clearing identified themselves with the company. 

“Dapat nga pinakulong yang nanira ng mga mangroves. It’s a criminal act to kill and destroy mangroves and marine habitats,” said Ramos, pointing to RA 7161 which bans cutting of mangroves in the country.

The law also states that mangrove forests serve as a major player in fighting against natural disasters and should be away from artificial obstruction in order to make way for flood water directly to the sea. It emphasizes that all mangrove forests shall be established as permanent forests and shall be managed under the principle of sustained yield.

As the project continues to progress, millions of migratory birds, who rely on mangroves for shelter, are at risk of losing their winter habitat. 

Taliptip was declared an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) by Birdlife International, housing more than 200,000 waterbirds during high season and serving as a crucial stopover for millions of migratory ones. 

About 27 percent of more than 50 million birds, including 36 globally threatened species, rely on this area to travel from Southeast Asia and Australasia to breed in the East Asian-Australian Flyway located across Russia and Alaska. 

Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP), a national bird-watching organization, said that any changes in the environment could negatively affect the birds’ winter food supply, adding that as a result of the project’s construction, birds may have to find alternative locations where they can feed and rest.

Between 2017 and 2021, during the pre-construction and early phases of the airport, The Netherlands’ National Committee on the International Union for Conservation of Nature reported a decline of more than 20 percent in waterbird populations in Manila Bay. 

‘Surrounding towns will sink’ 

Mangroves serve as the area’s first line of defense against flooding from severe storm surges. With extreme loss of it and fluctuating biodiversity, Taliptip is left more vulnerable to natural disasters like flooding. Now that the mangroves are significantly lessened, residents in the area are forced to create other contingency plans with little to no resources at hand.

“Marami na ngang scientist na nagsabing pag in-allow niyo yang reclamation na yan, mas lalong ma-aggravate ang flooding, wala na tayong defense against storm surges,” Ramos said. 

Residents near Perez Bridge, which connects Taliptip and Bambang and lies above the affected river, said that the area’s water level has increased since the airport’s construction. Additionally, with Manila's sea level already three to four times higher than the world average, Ramos said it would likely worsen with the project. 

Flood hazard maps show that Bulacan is located in the West Valley Fault System and is more prone to having floods. Bulacan also has 17 classified bodies of water inside and around the city and the project’s construction is connected to the coast of Manila Bay. 

Due to the project's impacts on the environment, many experts have cautioned of its contribution to the subsidence of towns surrounding the airport. The Center for Environment Concerns - Philippines (CECP) points this effect to San Miguel’s dredging activities that could destroy substantial marine ecosystems, risking the homes and breeding grounds of different aquatic species as a result. 

“Ang coral reefs ay breeding grounds ng fishes; dumidepende rin dito yun ibang aquatic species doon sa mga isdang yon. Talagang naa-alter yung kanilang ecosystem,” CECP said. 

Ramos points the project’s immediate and lasting impacts to San Miguel’s poor environmental assessment of the airport and lack of proper mitigation measures.

More carbon footprint

San Miguel’s big dream of serving 100 million passengers annually comes with bigger repercussions. Once fully operational, the Bulacan Airport is expected to generate a significant share of greenhouse gas emissions. During its early phase alone, with 35 million target passengers a year, the company has already calculated a production of approximately 1.5 million tons of carbon dioxide. 

San Miguel has started utilizing solar panels in an effort to rely on renewable energy for the airport’s construction, attempting to lessen its environmental risks and carbon footprint. Mangroves, if preserved, could have contributed to enhancing the project’s sustainability. 

‘It is sustainable and not a reclamation project’

SMC has repeatedly denied its involvement in controversial risks surrounding the project. With an ECC already secured, they also have pointed out several times that it is not a reclamation project, and that it only happens to be built on vulnerable low-lying areas of Bulakan.

In a statement by San Miguel in 2023, Ramon Ang said: “The airport project does not involve reclamation. The project site has existing, valid land titles indicating its original status as land. Due to natural processes over time, this land had become prone to regular inundation. Instead of creating new land, we are redeveloping it to its former state ensuring its productive and sustainable use for the future.” 

In contrast to everything that transpired in the land of Bulakan, San Miguel claims that they aim to incorporate green urbanism in the airport’s operations. They also claim to utilize renewable energy in accommodating different modes of transportation and create sustainable facilities dedicated to different sectors of living. 

In recent years, the conglomerate broadcasted its plan to plant 190,000 mangrove trees on the coastal areas of Bulacan as well as its neighboring provinces, in order to improve the quality of life for other biological species and prevent the chances of flooding. To compensate for the severe mangrove loss in Bulakan alone, 25,000 of these will be dedicated to the municipality in hopes of rebuilding its biodiversity.

According to the ECC issued by the DENR, San Miguel’s Bulacan Airport should create and implement concrete measures that would address the huge possibility of flooding in the area since experts have already stated that the airport site being used is prone to flood, and neighboring areas to domains in Bulacan that are also vulnerable to flooding.

Battle of perspectives

In 2022, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vetoed the bill proposing the establishment of the Bulacan Airport City Special Economic Zone due to revenue issues. The plan included key infrastructure such as facilities and road systems essential for the development and efficient operation of the airport. 

Bulacan Governor Daniel Fernando was in support of this executive move but signaled the airport’s immunity to the decision. This year, the bill eventually lapsed into law after lawmakers revised some of its provisions. The law allows SMC to create and operate an airport city in Bulakan. 

Fernando has shown support for the project as early as its consultation. In 2020, he said in a Facebook post that the ‘long-awaited’ airport would open more opportunities for Bulacan residents. 

Sharing the same sentiment as Fernando, Bulakan Mayor Vergel Menesses also expressed his approval of the project’s construction.

“Malaki talaga ang maitutulong. There will be more opportunities in terms of jobs and employment, increase of revenues from businesses, and real property will appreciate in value as well,” he said. 

Despite the project’s support from local government, along with San Miguel’s repeated denial of the project’s environmental repercussions, their claims of sustainability have been detracted religiously by environmental advocates. 

According to Ramos, the complexities and technicalities of the airport makes it a reclamation project which requires thorough clearing of the land and not just the mangroves. 

She added that SMC’s initiatives to make the project appear sustainable to the public, through forest rehabilitation and propagules planting among others, are all just efforts of “greenwashing”. 

“How can you say a project is sustainable when in the first place ay nagmula siya sa pagsisira ng mangroves, ecosystems, wetlands, ng kabuhayan ng ating kababayan? Hindi yan sustainable,” Ramos said, adding that reclamation projects like the airport’s construction should no longer have a place in the country since the 1987 constitution was established.

“The right to a healthy environment is not just a right but a duty not to destroy the environment,” she said. 

#