Environmental groups here and in the province of Negros Oriental are spearheading a signature campaign petitioning City Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo to stop the ongoing multi-million pesos “reclamation” project at the Rizal Boulevard here.
“At the same time, the groups are calling for transparency as there is no point on going back and forth on things related to the project,” said Merci Ferrer, co-convenor of the War on Waste (WOW)-Negros Orienta,l and who heads the Zero Waste Cities-Dumaguete.
She said the petition is now being circulated to gather as many signatures before this will be forwarded to the Mayor, and perhaps an audience with him by the end of the week.
“We don’t actually need so many signatures, but what is important is that we will bring the voices of the people to the Mayor,” she said.
The petition, launched during an environmental forum held over the weekend here, reads in part: “We demand that the project be halted, that the city conduct stakeholder consultations and a transparent process, a full environmental impact assessment, and the fulfillment of the City’s obligation to protect the environment under the Amended Fisheries Code, the Local Government Code, the Clean Water Act, the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, the Climate Change Act, and other relevant laws.”
It also cites concerns on the environmental impact of the project, such as possible pollution of municipal waters, local fisheries, biodiversity of marine ecosystems, wastewater flow, and the scouring of shores, among others.
The environmental groups decried the alleged “lack of transparency and public consultation” with regard the project.
Ferrer lamented that despite the Cease and Desist Order issued by the Philippine Reclamation Authority addressed to Mayor Remollo dated March 18, work continues at the 1.7-hectare “reclamation” area at the boulevard.
Dems Rey Demecillo, City Hall information officer reiterated that the city government has not received a copy of the PRA letter, but Ferrer said she believes otherwise.
“I find it funny and ridiculous that they keep on saying they do not have a copy of it. I have reason to believe that someone at City Hall has received the PRA document,” Ferrer said but declined to elaborate.
“It is the Mayor’s responsibility to report to us, the citizens, of what is happening, and with all the controversy, he has the position and the power to clarify all these things,” Ferrer stressed.
The War on Waste, Kinaiyahan Inc., and Friends of the Environment in Negros Oriental (FENOr) are spearheading the petition, with support from various sectors and similar advocacy groups from other places. (Judy F. Partlow/PNA)
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