No ECC, no PRA permit
A flagship project of the City of Dumaguete, the purported rehabilitation of 1.7 hectares of the Rizal Boulevard, was called out as an illegal reclamation project by the Philippine Reclamation Authority, which ordered the local government to “cease and desist” from continuing with the project.
In a letter dated March 18, 2019, PRA General Manager and CEO Janilo Rubiato said there is no record at the PRA of any clearance or approval issued in favor of the City for any reclamation project.
Rubiato gave the Cease and Desist Order following a site verification made by their technical staff on Feb. 22.
The PRA is the government agency solely responsible for regulating all reclamation projects throughout the country.
During their site visit, the PRA technical staff noted an ongoing reclamation activity that had already reclaimed 6,657 square meters of the sea. They found two beach volleyball courts, and one handball court beside the constructed extended drainage canal of about 80 meters.
The PRA staff learned there was a pending application for “area clearance” with the Department of Environment & Natural Resources dated Dec. 28, 2018 to reclaim up to 15,000 square meters.
The application for area clearance with the DENR was in line with the City’s hosting of the Palarong Pambansa and the Southeast Asian Games next year.
The PRA also served notice to the public that they are claiming ownership of the illegal reclamation project of the City as trustee/agent of the government.
However, the City has claimed no knowledge about the Cease and Desist Order. Information Officer Dems Demecillo instead forwarded to the media a copy of the Environmental Compliance Certificate from the Regional DENR office.
The ECC was dated June 18, 2019, long after the reclamation project actually began.
The ECC covers the “proposed rehabilitation/improvement of Rizal Boulevard near Press Club with an area of 17,715 square meters.”
However, Engr. William Cunado, regional director of the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau who issued the ECC, said the ECC does not create any right, nor can be used as authorization to implement the reclamation project.
Cunado directed Mayor Remollo to secure all the necessary permits from other pertinent government agencies, and submit them to the EMB for the issuance of a Notice of Project Implementation, prior to any construction activities.
The EMB also said they shall monitor the project periodically to ensure strict compliance with the stipulations cited in the attached ECC.
However, reporters and environmentalists who visited the area Friday noted that the PRA Cease and Desist Order had no effect on the reclamation activities at the boulevard, and that construction work persisted.
When sought for comment on the City’s receipt of an ECC for the “rehabilitation/improvement of Rizal Blvd.” from the DENR, National Scientist Dr. Angel C. Alcala clarified that creating something by making water into land is called ‘reclamation’.
He warned that the real negative impacts of climate change, rising sea level, and the strong currents in the waterfront could someday just wash out whatever is being reclaimed now.
“My prediction is that water rising will simply continue to flood the reclamation area year after year.”
Alcala said the situation will only get worse because of the southbound longshore current and strong wave action from Cebu which could destroy everything that is now being reclaimed.
He reiterated that reclamation activities instead destroy the environment as they change natural landscapes.
“We should instead preserve our coastal areas because sedimentation and siltation and continued erosion drive away the fishes and other marine resources. We need to safeguard the integrity of our coastal areas instead of fooling around with it,” he said.
The National Scientist admitted he may not be an authority on the matter but that from his personal experience in the erosion of Silliman Beach in barangay Bantayan after the 50-meter reclamation of the Sibulan airport, and based on documentation with photos on Google Earth of several other reclamations in the Province and in Bohol, this is not the way to go in the name of development.
For their part, Silliman University President Betty Cernol-McCann said they are also interested in looking at the documents requested by the Philippine Reclamation Authority so that the University can make an assessment of the project that the PRA termed as “ongoing unauthorized reclamation”.
These documents include: sketch plan of location and extent of project boundaries; site development plan; bathymetric and topographic survey of the boundaries; detailed plan (showing layout, profile, cross section) of the reclamation and containment walls; detailed cost estimate; source of funds; City Resolution approving the project; and copies of no-objection clearances from government agencies.
In 2007, outrage from Silliman University was instrumental in halting the reclamation proposal by the Philippine Port Authority after its scientists and law professors spearheaded indignation and objection over the matter.
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