Villar: Spare wetland from airport construction

MANILA, Philippines - The Aquino administration and the proponents of a new $10-billion international airport should spare the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat Eco-Tourism Area (LPPCHEA), Sen. Cynthia Villar said yesterday.

“They can build a new airport, but it should be somewhere else and not at LPPCHEA,” Villar said.

Villar’s statement came after San Miguel Corp. president Ramon Ang proposed to construct a completely new airport but declined to divulge the prospective location of the new airport amid reports it will be at LPPCHEA due to its accessibility.

Villar expressed alarm on this report, saying building a new airport in LPPCHEA is tantamount to the reclamation of one of the world’s most important wetlands.

According to Villar, she is not opposed to the construction of an international airport but it should not be at the expense of the environment.

Villar recommended that the new international airport be constructed at Sangley Point or Clark Airbase, where there are existing airports.

She expressed the belief a new and modern airport would decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and improve its image in the eyes of foreign travelers.

Villar noted that LPPCHEA has been included in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance, along with world-renowned Tubbataha Reefs National Marine Park in Sulu and the Underground River in Palawan.

LPPCHEA, a mangrove forest and marine habitat in the cities of Las Piñas and Parañaque, serves as a sanctuary for 84 bird species, including migratory birds from as far as Siberia. It is also a home to the endangered Philippine duck, Chinese egret and black stilt.