‘Reclamation agency has no place on Green Code’

THE ongoing reclamation project in Cordova town will  test the Capitol’s idea of what should or should not be allowed in a Green Code.

An ordinance for a Provincial Environmental Code  is being crafted  by the committee of Provincial Board (PB) Member Thadeo Ouano, whose 6th district covers the 132-hectare project.

Ouano earlier  sought the  opinion of ecology laywer Gloria Estenzo-Ramos of the Philippine Earth Justice  Center.

She wrote back that including the  Cebu Provincial Reclamation Authority (CPRA) in Section 2 of the draft code was out of place. She recommended taking it out.

“Reclamation projects are never sustainable as they destroy ecosystems and cause pollution and displacements of people and  destruction of species and their habitats,” she wrote.

She said the provision of a CPRA “is incompatible with protection of the environment and attainment of sustainable development that the Environment Code is designed for.”

Ramos also said she finds the CPRA’s legality “questionable.”

The E-code  is set for second reading by the Provincial Board after revisions are made.

At the Capitol, Provincial Legal Officer Marino Martinquilla said he sees no need for prior authorization from the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) for  Cordova’s reclamation project.

“There is no such thing as authorization from PRA as far as the Cordova reclamation project is concerned,” he told reporters.

Martinquilla said the project is funded by the province.

He said  the 1991 Local Government Code devolves the powers and functions essential to the delivery of public services to the province and other local government units (LGUs).

Martinquilla, who used to head the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of the province, said the reclamation project underwent bidding by the BAC and is undertaken by the province of Cebu.

Martinquilla also showed a copy of an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in response to a Cebu Daily News Page 1 story “Cordova’s gamble” in the Feb. 12 issue, which raised issues of marine habitat damage and loss of fisherfolk’s livelihood.

The ECC issued on March 10, 2010, covers the proposed roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) terminal project with a total foreshore area of 100,000 square meters in  barangay Poblacion, Cordova town.

The project includes the development, installation and operation components of the causeways with reclamation activity covering 3,000 square meters, a ro-ro ramp and a passenger terminal.

It also covers a parking area and wastewater treatment facility covering 62,875 square meters and open foreshore areas covering 31,125 square meters.

Martinquilla said the DENR wouldn’t have issued the ECC if it had posed danger to the environment.  /Carmel Loise Matus, Correspondent