Negros Oriental board blocks projects in protected areas

SERENITY Rizal Boulevard, one of Dumaguete City’s tourist spots, is a picture of serenity at sunset. Environmental advocates, scientists and leaders of religious groups and fishing communities have been staging protests to stop a reclamation project that is seen to destroy marine protected areas in the city. —RAFFY CABRISTANTE

DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental, Philippines — The Negros Oriental provincial board has voted to override the veto of Gov. Roel Degamo on an ordinance that declared marine protected areas (MPAs) in the province as “reclamation-free zones.”

The unanimous vote by 12 board members effectively shut the reclamation project of the Dumaguete City government that has been opposed by groups of environmental advocates, fisherfolk, scientists, religious leaders and residents due to its impact on the marine environment and livelihood of local fishermen.

The board’s decision is seen to protect the four MPAs that will be covered by the proposed 174-hectare reclamation project in Dumaguete.

Degamo earlier said that he vetoed the ordinance as its enactments was ultra vires, or beyond the provincial board’s power. The power to approve or reject reclamation projects, the governor said, lies with the Philippine Reclamation Authority which is under the Office of the President.

Gov’s position

He said the veto did not mean that he was favoring the reclamation project in Dumaguete.

“I continue to oppose the [reclamation project] since it has not been clearly explained what good this project will bring,” said Degamo in a video message posted on his Facebook page on Sept. 26.

With Degamo’s veto overridden by the board, the ordinance will now declare all 46 MPAs in Negros Oriental as “reclamation-free zones,” banning all foreshore and offshore reclamation activities in these areas.

The four MPAs in Dumaguete City covered by the ordinance are the Banilad Marine Sanctuary and Reservation, Bantayan Marine Reserve, Lo-oc Marine Sanctuary and Reservation Area, and Mangnao Marine Sanctuary and Reservation Area. These areas would be affected should the city government push through with the reclamation project for its “Smart City.”

The other MPAs in Negros Oriental are located in the towns of Amlan, Ayungon, Bacong, Basay, Bindoy, Dauin, La Libertad, Manjuyod, San Jose, Siaton, Sibulan, Tayasan and Zamboanguita, and the cities of Bais, Guihulngan, Tanjay and Bayawan.

The Inquirer tried but failed to reach Dumaguete City Mayor Felipe Remollo on Wednesday for his statement on the board’s decision.

Negative impact

A position paper earlier issued by marine biologists and experts from Silliman University noted that the project “will negatively impact these MPAs directly or indirectly,” and that “some of these MPAs may even cease to exist.”

Among the proponents of the paper include National Scientist Angel Alcala, former Silliman University president Ben Malayang III and incumbent university president Betty McCann.

On Sept. 10, Mayor Remollo withdrew his request to the city council to grant him the authority to enter a memorandum of understanding with the private contractor E.M. Cuerpo Inc. for the reclamation project.