MUPH Bulacan faces backlash over tourism video featuring airport development site

“Soon, Bulacan will not just be a gateway to the North, but the strong catch basin of the Philippine economy. The catalyst of Business and Commerce, Trade and Industry, especially Tourism,” she added 

After boasting about the airport development site, Manalo went on to mention Bulacan’s history, faith, and then the Dumagats of the Sierra Madre Mountains. 

Despite the glittered glow of the video, social media users couldn't help but question the airport development's inclusion due to the string of controversy surrounding it.

Online reactions

In the comments section of Manalo's tourism video, online users raised the environmental issues brought about by the development site such as how over 600 mangrove trees were cut down in 2018 along the coastal area of Barangay Taliptip where the airport is being built.

Mangrove trees serve as a primary defense against floods.

"Doesn't this woman know how many times people living here need to renovate their houses? [Literally] to the point we need to do that annually because every year water level rises significantly?" one user commented on Facebook.

"Chelsea Manalo binabaha na kami dahil dyan pinopromote mo pa," one user on X, formerly Twitter, wrote. 

Other users raised how the project displaced fisherfolk from the area.

"Can't believe Ms. Bulacan is promoting [SMC]'s Aerotropolis, a project that has destroyed hectares of mangroves and displaced hundreds of fisherfolk families. People lost their livelihoods!" added another.

“If the future involves the displacement and constant flooding of some parts of Bulacan, then I'm not ready for that," said one user.

One user noted “the audacity” of Manalo and her team to “flex” the future airport and include the Dumagats at the same time, indicating that the indigenous homes are among those affected by the site’s development. 

Some Filipinos commented on how Bulacan is rich in festivals and culture that Ms. Manalo could’ve “flexed,” and that her team should have highlighted those instead and that, with the platform she is given, they could have spread awareness regarding these issues instead of “flexing” them. 

"Why would you use Dumagats for this campaign then show the [aerotropolis]?" one user wrote on Facebook.

What is the New Manila International Airport?

ICYDK, the new airport is a project spearheaded by San Miguel Corporation (SMC) that is being built on a 2,500-hectare coastal property in Bulakan town.

The P735.6 billion aerotropolis, expected to have a 200 million passenger capacity per year, will have four runways,  a "world-class" terminal, and expressway and railway line connections.

Fisherfolk and civil society groups issued a writ of kalikasan petition against the airport's construction in 2020 bringing up that the building could disrupt marine life and ecosystem in Manila Bay. The case was later dismissed by the Supreme Court.

Former PHIVOLCS director Renato Solidum also warned in 2020 that the airport may be prone to strong ground shaking and liquefaction during earthquakes. In a Senate hearing on the aerocity's franchise, he said the area is underlain by sand and the water table is "very shallow."

Meanwhile, Advocates of Science and Technology for the People (AGHAM) said that the area could be at risk from storm surges.

Families in seven sitios, Dapdap, Bunotan, Camansi, Capiz, Capol, Kinse, and Pariahan, were moved out of their homes in 2020 to SMC-built houses.