A David and Goliath legal battle to save Manila Bay

When I learned about the case of PAMALAKAYA, et al. v. PRA and DENR, the story of David v. Goliath came to my mind.

In the biblical story of David v. Goliath, David was a young shepherd who was small and inexperienced yet with courage, agility and faith in God, volunteered to go against Goliath, a giant warrior whom no one dared to fight with because of his might and stature.

In Pamalakaya, the petitioners who are non-profit groups, fisherfolks, environmentalists and concerned citizens, put up a legal battle against government regulators, questioning the adverse impacts of reclamation and seabed quarry activities in the iconic Manila Bay.

The said case is a petition for Writ of Kalikasan and Continuing Mandamus (with Damages) seeking to compel the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to declare null and void reclamation and seabed quarry permits and stop these environmentally destructive activities until proven safe, after conducting a holistic cumulative impacts assessment and following an approved reclamation and development plan.

As explained in the petition, during the years 2019 to 2023, Executive Order No. 74 was already in effect, which requires the conduct of holistic cumulative impacts assessment and reclamation development plans prior to the issuance of Environmental Compliance Certificates (ECCs) and approval of reclamation permits.

Despite this legal mandate, the PRA approved the reclamation projects without conducting cumulative impacts assessment. For its part, the DENR issued the ECCs without the cumulative impacts assessment and despite absence of reclamation and development plan.

Because of this non-compliance, the reclamation and seabed quarry projects produced adverse impacts to the fisherfolks and to the environment.

The fisherfolks observed a drastic change in their fish catch and in the marine environment during those years. The waters became muddy and some fishes which they used to catch easily were completely gone. This resulted in loss of livelihood and additional expenses for our fisherfolks who needed to find farther fishing grounds.

According to Dr. Bree Yednock from the science unit of the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide seabed quarrying and reclamation projects result in permanent damages in the physical features and hydrodynamic conditions of a water body. “Even if the reclamation islands and their developments were to be removed at any point, the underlying seafloor habitats and ecological communities that were buried during the projects’ construction will have been lost forever.”

In its recent Resolution dated February 11, 2025, the Supreme Court En Banc ordered the impleading of ten (10) seabed quarry permit holders and ten (10) reclamation permit holders as respondents. The respondents consist of 13 private corporations and 7 local government units surrounding Manila Bay.

This recent development is the beginning of what I can imagine as a David versus Goliath story in our present context and times.

In that story, the respondents are like Goliath, rich and powerful while the poor and disadvantaged petitioners are like David.

That in the end, these small fisherfolks will reign supreme against these giants may be because they have the good cause, the courage, agility and faith, just like in the biblical David and Goliath story.