Dumaguete City is known for its beautiful seaside boulevard, the majestic coastal view and ocean breeze, and the bayside establishments along the famous avenue. This, along with Dumaguete’s many other resources, are in danger of degradation because of a 174-hectare island reclamation project by the local government in partnership with E.M. Cuerpo, a local construction company.
Members of the community, groups like the Catholic and Presbyterian Church communities, educational institutions, environmental organizations, members of the academe, students, activists, and scientists are opposing this project for “environmental, economical, and legal reasons.”
Critics are opposed, first of all, because the project will bury four marine reserves and cover 85 percent of the city’s shoreline (the size of 4,000 basketball courts), according to marine scientist Rene Abesamis. This spells trouble not just for the coastal ecosystem but also for the livelihood of the local fisherfolk, threatening to displace the 994 fishers in the city. Dumaguete stands to lose marine species, commercially valuable fish, mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and coral reefs in the four marine protected areas mentioned above, as well as on the coast of Negros Oriental.
Experts believe that it’s not worth losing all this in exchange for the P23-billion “smart city” complex that is being planned for the reclaimed island. Whatever economic benefit this development may bring to the people of Dumaguete, and to the country in general, will “pale in comparison to the monumental ecological disaster it poses.”
But the Dumaguete City Council granted Mayor Felipe Remollo the authority to enter into an agreement with EMC on July 7. In response, three petitions have been completed to call for the project’s discontinuation. One of them gathered 20,000 electronic signatures and was submitted to the Office of the Mayor.
STEWARDS, a marine conservation organization, offered satellite images and the result of their 2020 field surveys to provide estimates pertaining to the degree of destruction that the project may bring. According to the organization, the project will destroy 62.5 percent of seagrass (36.15 hectares) and 60.58 percent of corals and reefs (36.2 hectares). According to the Philippine Association of Marine Sciences, this will directly impact 150 species of corals; 200 species of fish, including sharks and rays; nine species of seagrass; and 20 species of mangroves.
#NoTo174Dumaguete, a coalition of organizations opposed to the project, also warned that this reclamation activity will worsen flooding in the area because “building an artificial island will disrupt the natural flow of rivers and creeks.”
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Last Saturday, August 21, the country remembered Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. who was assassinated on this day in 1983. We honor the life and legacy of our beloved hero who believed that “the Filipino is worth dying for.” Ninoy will continue to live in our hearts.