That awkward moment when you think you know something then realizing that you weren’t even close.
Take away the sunset and what becomes the most visible landmark of Manila Bay?
I would answer the trash on its shores and floating on its chunky exhaust-colored water, just because of the scene I encounter everytime I pass by the area.
Sadly, because I was born in the 21st century, this is what’s left of it.
This sad state is the sole image of Manila Bay that me, and maybe everyone else, has.
Or is it?
Even after centuries of being a prime location for naval battles between colonizers, a dumpsite for the city’s factories, and for thousands of hectares of reclamation to build Asia’s largest mall, Manila Bay still keeps a part of itself secret.
And I stumbled upon it a year ago.
Take a look at this photo that one of my friends took at the time:
I bet Manila Bay isn’t the first place that pops into your head if you were asked where that is (it doesn’t count if you guessed correctly because we’ve been talking about it for the past 5 paragraphs).
Surprisingly, pools that reflect serenity as perfectly as it does the mangrove trees around it still exist, and so do a whole lot of other nature things. I found out that later on that Manila Bay is still one of the Philippines’ most important wetland areas when it comes to harboring wildlife.
Specifically, the above photo was taken in the Las Pinas-Paranaque Critical Habitat & Ecotourism Area or LPPCHEA.
To make it easier on the tongue, it was nicknamed Freedom Island by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Consider its 175 hectares of mangroves, ponds, and salt marsh as Manila’s last coastal frontier.
Here’s a map of where that is:
LPPCHEA or Freedom Island is one of only six sites in the country recognized as having international importance when it comes to helping people and wildlife by the Ramsar Convention.
Why?
Maybe because without a wetland basin like this, people from Las Piñas, Paranaque, and Cavite would have to trade in their cars for rubber boats due to flooding of up to 5.23 meters (that’s a two story building) becoming more common.
Or that the loss of a breeding grounds for fish, crabs, and shrimp would drive communities of nearby fishing villages out of a job.
One more thing, if you paid attention to the map earlier, you would have that seen a single narrow strip of land actually connects it to the rest of Metro Manila.
This means that it isn’t an island at all.
What it is though, is a wildlife and nature explorer’s dream.
What did I find there? Wild animals that migrated from as far away as Russia, China, and Japan to escape merciless winters by spending a few months in the tropical paradise that is the Philippines.
Take the Great Egret below for example.
On top of looking like a Brachiosaurus dinosaur from the late Jurassic period, it also regularly flies 8,000 kilometers from where it nests in China to Manila Bay where they easily number in the tens of thousands, with just their fat as fuel.
Think about that the next time you complain about a 5k run.
Speaking of running, do you fancy long hot legs?
Well, get ready for a pair that gives even size 0 models a dose of insecurity. Here’s the Black Winged Stilt, fresh from a long haul flight from Siberia.
Then there’s the Common Kingfisher. With a body that can fit in your hand, it’s anyone’s guess on how it gets here from Japan on its own.
My guess is that its magic.
Unfortunately, I’ve been told that these mangroves, migratory birds, and other wildlife get fewer every year as Manila Bay becomes more like a dumpsite, or worse, a casino complex.
After talking to people from various organizations and reading news reports, I found out that Freedom Island, along with a significant chunk of Manila Bay, is facing a very real possibility of destruction.
All this to put up a highway and an entertainment district by reclaming more of the coast.
It shocked me when I realized what this could mean:
We could be the last generation to see Manila Bay’s natural beauty.
Or we could be the generation that allowed it to disappear.
Which one is worse?
But we can always add a third option.
Let your government officials know you care about what happens to Manila Bay and that they should too. Sign the petition for Freedom Island here and for the rest of Manila Bay here.
Bonus: Freedom Island is one of the few areas where water loving Nilad trees still grow. Never heard of it before? You might have. While the Nilads are all but gone, their legacy lives on in the place where they once thrived, which came to be known as may nilad, a.k.a. Manila.
This post was written by volunteer nature lovers. If you think it was helpful, please consider sharing it on Facebook and Twitter to help raise awareness about the Philippine environment. You can also sign up with your email at the bottom of this page so you can be notified when new stories are sent in.
Woah, this is hard to believe after seeing Manila Bay. Thanks for the heads up that this place exists!
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Thanks for reading William! Try visiting it yourself 🙂
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Wow! I’m amazed that an area like this still exists in Metro Manila. Definitely want to visit this soon. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
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Thanks for reading! I’ll make sure to read the new post you’ll make once you do visit.
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thanks for posting this one. may i know hot to get there? is there any permits need to secure before going? thnx
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Thanks for reading Bambie! You have to secure a permit first from the DENR-NCR office in Quezon City. It’s easy to do, just call them up at 435-2410 🙂
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your reply is much appreciated. thnx a lot for that info!!
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It’s a secret safe haven for those wild ones! Hope I could get there someday.
Thank you for articles like these. Feeling Environmentalist is easily on my favorite blogs list 🙂
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Thanks for reading Ysa! You might want to join the Haribon Foundation or the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines. Those 2 groups should have scheduled trips to Freedom Island in the coming weeks due to the migratory season 🙂
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This is pretty amazing. There’s a picture I found in a stack of dust-filled photo albums, it was of my mom holding baby me at the edge of Manila Bay. It looked so different from when I took pictures of it at the edge of MoA. (Smelled different too, I bet) It’s nice to know that there’s still a nice little untouched part of it. Thanks for sharing this. ❤
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Thanks also for reading Grgette! I’d love to see that photo of yours showing how it was before MOA came along 🙂
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I always see the mangroves from the bus whenever I travel from Manila to Cavite via Cavitex every weekend and with only seeing that I am already in awe, much more by knowing what help they bring to our environment! Thank you for sharing 🙂
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The view on Cavitex of the mangrove islands is really something 🙂
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Keep Philippines for filipino only and send all those dominting chines back to China.
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It’s time that filipinos come to realise how beautiful our nature is, and how to fight to preserve it.
Hopefully Manila Bay could still be save.
Feeling so sad seeing how people ruin the nature.
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Amazing! People should start paying attention in preserving this wonderful environment. Thanks for letting us know of its existence.
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I agree! I hope this blog will convince people to at least consider being aware of what’s actually around them.
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Will visit the place soon, or will try to get in touch with Haribon.. kakatuwa may place pa palang ganyan sa Manila.
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Nakakagulat talaga kapag first time! This month is the best time to visit there so please do! Don’t forget to share your pictures after your visit 🙂
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It’s amazing. I’ve been reading some of your articles lately and really helps a lot. Hope to read more interesting things from you. More power!
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Wow thanks for following our stories here Lara! As long as people believe the environment is worth giving a few minutes to read about, we’ll keep on making new posts 🙂
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Woah! This is amazing. Well written and very inspiring. Thanks for this blog!
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Thank you for the kind words Rhea 🙂
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well you know that the river near freedom island is a garbage dump
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The bad news is, that river isn’t even the greatest contributor to the trash along Freedom Island.
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I know this place a long time ago. Since I was a child I have been praying that this place wouldn’t be destroyed by the people who lives near there. I have been traveling from manila to cavite so I always see this place. I thought it wasn’t a protected area. Thank you for letting me know that they have made a move on protecting it. I’ve always admired the beauty of this place and its importance to our ecosystem. 🙂
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Thanks for reading Ram! I wish I could’ve seen this place when I was young.
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I hope we can duplicate this natural beauty along manila bay and the pasig river…
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Me too, Clifford. Thankfully, many sections of the Pasig River have had some really great improvement in the past several years! I think it was led by the ABSCBN Foundation/Bantay Kalikasan/Kapit Bisig Para sa Ilog Pasig.
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Hi!
I am a filipino filmmaker and I am interested in your movement (especially this story about the dying mangroves of Manila Bay). Is there anyway (aside from the comment section) I can get in contact with you? I’d like to make a documentary about this place and your movement. Perhaps we can help you guys in spreading the word? Please let me know as soon as possible! Thanks.
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Hi Nic! I just sent you an email on the people you should contact to help you do this video. Keep us updated!
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Amazing article. Thanks for introducing me to that part of Manila Bay and the wildlife that still inhabit/visit that area.
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I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed this article, King!
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Thank you for this article. Never thought that this place exists in manila. Would love to go there with my family and friends soon. ♥
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Thanks for reading Sarah! I hope you and your friends get to visit it soon.
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wow!, im from las pinas and always passing that area without even realizing that a place like that exist, thank you for sharing this informative article.
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You’re welcome Mark! Try visiting it in the next few weeks. It’s the migratory season so there’s a lot to see.
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thanks for featuring the LPPCHEA! the wild bird club of the philippines and the denr-ncr have worked hard on getting this little treasure protected. we hope more people will support this place and reject any move to reclaim the place.
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It was my pleasure Jon! Thanks for reading.
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I was born in the early 60s. I remember we used to swim at Manila Bay every sunday. The water was clear and clean. I saw how time ravaged this area. Now, after reading your post, I was surprise that there still is a small piece of ‘heaven’ in Manila Bay. I hope this place can still be saved. We cannot control the onslaught of development, unless the people get involve.
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during the season where there are migrating birds in Freedom, you will notice that airplanes will change their landing route so birds wont be disturb.
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Some scenes in an indie film (“Adela,” starring Anita Linda) were shot here. The ‘island’ looked beautiful in the backdrop.
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Wow I didn’t know that Al! Do you where we can get a copy of that movie?
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Thank you for posting! This could help us in our campaign to save the protect and conserve the area.
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Thank you for posting! This could help us protect and conserve the area.
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Thanks for your post. Amazing area. Schools should know better than to have their field trip in shopping malls! I hope Wild Bird Club can schedule another trip to Freedom Island. I missed the April sched.
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Any update on the Freedom Island?
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Hi Paolo! I last visited Freedom Island 2 months ago and it still looks the same. Whether that is good news or bad news, I’m not so sure. Would you like to visit it yourself?
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Actually. I might say. This post really help me, big time! And because of this post on my cell phone screen. I now have the reason to defend and the chance to win our debate for tomorrow. Thank you very much about this inportant information you just shared. May god bless you. Continue to make our country like the old days. I’ll surely speard this incredibly news to my friends. Thank you again 🙂
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