File photo: freedom Island in Las Pinas (Photo by Bianca Dava)

MANILA - A lawmaker has urged the incoming Duterte administration to reject proposals for a new international airport on a reclaimed area of Manila Bay, citing hazards to the environment and the possibility of massive floods.

"I appeal to President-elect Duterte to look beyond the claim of decongesting existing airports and realize that the planned reclamation will cause flooding as high as 8 meters in Parañaque, Las Piñas and Cavite. It will also deprive 300,000 fishermen of their livelihood," Senator Cynthia Villar said in a statement Thursday.

Villar said suggestions to put up a new airport in Manila Bay surfaced after re-elected Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez urged President-elect Rodrigo Duterte to approve a proposed $13-billion international airport plan in Manila Bay.

Villar said under the plan, the new airport will take up 157 hectares of Freedom Island, which is part of the Las Piñas- Parañaque Critical Habitat (LPPCHEA).

Photo courtesy of www.ramsar.org

LPPCHEA, a declared critical habitat and a protected area by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 1412 and 1412-A in 2007, has the "thickest and most diverse" mangrove forest within Manila Bay and is home to Philippine ducks and other wild bird species, Villar said.

Photo courtesy of www.ramsar.org

"The reclamation of Manila Bay is dangerous as it can also be seen as a violation of Supreme Court's continuing mandamus since 2008 directing the government to clean up Manila Bay," Villar added.

Villar said the government should instead look at other potential locations, adding that the "airport in Clark could be improved to loosen passenger traffic in NAIA."

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