The construction of a “mega vaccination site” on a reclaimed land owned by the Nayong Pilipino Foundation (NPF) sparked a feud between the Duterte administration and the foundation itself.
NPF opposes the planned vaccination facility, saying trees would be cut, but Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr responds that it is ‘inappropriate for the NPF to equate the fate of 500 ipil-ipil trees’ with Filipinos’ lives.
In a statement on Sunday(May 9), Secretary Galvez said that time is of the essence for the vaccination center’s construction. The vaccine czar said that work on the facility should have commenced weeks ago, but so far, not a single brick or panel has been laid.
He further reiterates that the planned vaccination center on reclaimed land at Entertainment City in Parañaque City will help accelerate the implementation of the national vaccination program, as it will enable to vaccinate around 10,000 individuals daily.
But the NPF, who is already hosting a quarantine facility, operated by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, on the property raised on Thursday (May 6), legal and environmental concerns about the planned vaccination site, which would be built near the quarantine facility.
It emphasized that the property is “not a vacant lot but has a thriving urban forest that hosts a variety of urban wildlife and is the last remaining grassland in the reclaimed area of Parañaque City.”
The NPF explained that the abrupt cutting of close to 500 trees and other site works on the said property will kill the existing ecosystem. Once lost, the NPF said it could take decades to recover this ecosystem. A mega vaccination facility that will destroy this ecosystem would be a disaster and a disservice to the residents of Metro Manila who need more green and open spaces.
Reports said that NPF Executive Director Lucille Karen Malilong Isberto, among those who voiced these concerns, has already resigned.
