Cordova reclamation dumps filling material in mangrove

FILLING materials are being dumped in the coastal barangay of Camolinas in Cordova town, Mactan island, where small fisherman worry about the impact of an ongoing reclamation project.

The materials are dumped in a mangrove area, blocking access to the sea. Fishermen now have to dock their bancas farther away.

A roll-on-roll-off port has started operating in Camolinas since Jan. 28.

Cordova Mayor Adelino Sitoy assured fisherfolks that they would still have a place to dock their boats in the reclamation area. Sitoy met with them last Thursday and said they shouldn’t fear losing their livelihood.

Allan Mangubat and two other fishermen told Cebu Daily News that with the ongoing Cordova reclamation project, they feared losing their livelihood since their boats have to dock farther away at least a kilometer from their homes.

“We worry about the changing weather. And we also worry about our boats’ safety against robbers. We were once robbed even if our boats are near our homes, how much more if they’re placed far away,” said Mangubat in Cebuano.

Mayor Sitoy showed a reclamation plan to the fishermen and exlained how the project would benefit them.

Phase one will be completed in June this year, he said.

Daisy Tajanlangit, chairperson of the Camolinas Fisherfolks Organization, said that although there were complaints, shel would support the reclamation project because it would benefit them.

She said the municipal government assured them of jobs as stevedores in the new port.

Elizalde Descartin, a Camolinas resident, said since the port started operations, only cargo trucks and a few passengers would disembark from the roro vessel of VG Shipping Lines. She said trips were twice a week on Thursdays and Saturdays./Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus