CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — After asserting that the 2,500-hectare “aerotropolis” project would worsen disaster risk, displace fisherfolk, and damage ecology in Bulakan, Bulacan, a fishers’ group said it would also destroy valuable cultural sites, including memorials to heroes Gregorio del Pilar and his uncle Marcelo H. del Pilar.
The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) has urged the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), to oppose the aerotropolis project, including the New Manila International Airport plan being pushed by San Miguel Corp.
The group said that “Bulakan town and especially the Our Lady of Assumption Church are rich in national historical heritage which will be threatened with destruction by the construction of the said project at the coast of Manila Bay.”
“Istorikal ang bayan ng Bulakan, lalo na ang simbahan at mga pinagkapanganakan ng bayaning si Marcelo Del Pilar at Gregorio Del Pilar. Ito rin ay naging battleground sa pagitan ng Kastila at Britanya noong 1760s. Dapat itong protektahan kontra sa mga proyektong katulad ng aerotropolis,” Pamalakaya chair Fernando Hicap said in a statement.
He noted that in 2017, the NHCP installed a historical marker at the church and also installed a monument at the tomb of Gregorio Del Pilar, while the ancestral house of Marcelo Del Pilar was transformed into a museum in the town.
“Some 8,000 Filipino guerillas fought against the British invaders in front of the church and repelled them to Manila. This was the legacy of Bulakenyos who victoriously fought against foreign invaders,” Hicap noted.
“Mismong ang buong bayan ng Bulakan ay pambansang yaman sa kasaysayan, dapat itong pagandahin at hindi burahin o i-transporma bilang aerotropolis kung saan mabubura ang pamana ng mga Bulakenyo,” he added.
The group earlier warned that the San Miguel project could trigger disastrous flooding in Bulakan and nearby towns. The Bulacan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office included the Bulakan town as part of flood-prone area on their Hazard and Vulnerability Map. It is also vulnerable to storm surges and high tide and flood due to ponding.
Pamalakaya also said the town’s “vulnerability to an intensity 8 earthquake, is classified as very destructive to devastating ground-shaking. It has also high susceptibility to liquefaction or loss of strength of the soil.”
“Hindi lang kontra sa karapatan at kabuhayan ng mga apektadong mangingisda ang proyektong aerotropolis ng San Miguel, kontra rin ito sa kasaysayan at makabayang pamana ng mga Bulakenyo,” Hicap also said.
