Chairman Alberto Agra; General Manager Janilo Rubiato, fellow workers in government, friends:
Thank you for this opportunity to speak before you today. The Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) is now a key, although low-profile, development agency.
Forty years ago, former president Ferdinand E. Marcos foresaw the importance of creating a clearinghouse for the disposal of idle public lands and the reclamation of key areas. A clearinghouse will ensure the most judicious use of our land assets to support the nation’s growth. Without such a clearinghouse, we faced the prospect of wild and unplanned reclamation of our shorelines. In addition to functioning as a clearinghouse, the Philippine Reclamation Authority (formerly the Public Estates Authority) now has the additional task of protecting foreshore areas such as Tacloban.
Through the past four decades, the PRA performed both regulatory and proprietary functions. Mandated to be self-liquidating, this agency produced assets and revenues for government by reclaiming land and converting these into valuable real estate. The 1,500 hectare Manila Bay reclamation project now known as Bay City is the PRA’s crowning glory although, I am told, a long list of important projects will be built over the next few years.
We cannot overstate the importance of growing our land to support our nation’s development. Being an archipelago, we actually have less land between mountainside and shoreline for cultivation and habitation than it might seem. As our population continues to grow, pressure on the land assets will continue to rise.
At present, we have hundreds of thousands of Filipinos residing in hazardous areas. These are areas along steep slopes, riverbanks and shorelines vulnerable to flood surges and landslides. We urgently need new and safer areas to be developed for habitation.
At the moment, we also need new land to supplement what we have available for new roads and ports. This will have an impact on the congestion of our cities and the growing lack of space for schools and residential buildings. Reclamation will provide for these.
I understand the PRA is broadening studies and exploration of landfill materials, constantly upgrading its engineers on modern techniques of dredging and reclamation and improving its capacity to monitor land development projects. This is well and good.
The PRA has the power and authority not only to dispose of idle public land but also to enter into contracts with private, public and even foreign entities in pursuit of its mission. This agency likewise is mandated to exercise the power of eminent domain on behalf of the Republic.
With the correct leadership and an imaginative blueprint, the PRA holds the potential for enlarging the amount of reclaimed land available for residential and commercial development. This agency is a land source and a major provider of assets to support our development goals.
The PRA should be commended for its current program of building capacity and preparing the agency to play a larger role in the nation’s development. Its programs include initiating opportunities for public-private as well as public-public partnerships. This allows the agency to be pro-active in putting together critically important projects with local government units nationwide.
At present the PRA has identified 96 reclamation projects in various stages of the evaluation and approvals process. In addition, the agency has identified 487 unauthorized projects for which government is seeking reimbursement or forfeiture of the land. About 20 reclamation projects are ready to commence in the near future. These projects will potentially produce hundreds of billions of pesos worth of public assets and help modernize some of our most vital ports.
In addition, consistent with overall policy, the PRA is now open for unsolicited proposals. This will allow private sector proponents to bring in their own ideas and partner with the government to build economically and environmentally sustainable property developments.
I sense the energy and commitment of the entire agency to be an active contributor to our nation’s progress. I can only encourage you to carry on with your visionary blueprint. The PRA is no longer confined to the Manila Bay area as it was during most of the past forty years. It is now engaged in scores of projects in nearly all our major port cities. It will be a much larger, more vital agency in the years to come.
I can only wish you the best and congratulate you for making this fortieth anniversary a truly remarkable milestone for the PRA.