Tagbilaran City Mayor Jane Cajes Yap announced on Friday, November 24, 2023,
that she will not continue with all activities related to the proposed Tagbilaran City
Waterfront Development Project, a reclamation project that would have created a
2.5-kilometer stretch of land along the city’s coast.
In a press conference, Mayor Yap said that she made the decision based on the
series of public consultations that she conducted with various stakeholders, including
the affected coastal barangays, the religious sector, the business sector, the
academe, the environmental groups, and the general public.
She said she listened to the voice of the people, who expressed their concerns about
the environmental and social impacts of the project, as well as the lack of
transparency and participation in the process.
She also clarified that the project was still in the competitive selection process, and
that the city government followed the proper procedure based on the Public Private
Partnership Ordinance and the pre-development activities given by the Philippine
Reclamation Authority (PRA).
Mayor Jane said the project was not meant to be implemented immediately, but
rather to explore economic development opportunities for the city, which was
awarded as the Most Business Friendly City in the entire Philippines (category 3) for
the third time in five years.
She cited the projected income that the project would generate for the city
government and the six coastal barangays, as well as the estimated 57,000 jobs that
it would create.
However, she said that she also valued the advocacy of balancing economic
progress with environmental protection in making any executive decision.
“Kinahanglan pod unahon ang pag-submit sa Environmental Impact Statement para
makahibaw ta sa environmental effects sa maong proyekto, kay sa atong mga series
of public consultations mao gyud ni ang pinaka importanteng gi-pangita sa mga taw,”
she said. (We also need to prioritize the submission of the Environmental Impact
Statement to know the environmental effects of the project, because this is what the
people really wanted in our series of public consultations.)
She added that she would also update the Public Private Partnership Ordinance to
include the requirement of conducting public consultation at the earliest stage of the
process for any new developments that would enter the city in the future.
She assured the public that despite scrapping the project, Tagbilaran City would
continue to grow and support the dreams of each Tagbilaranon towards shared
progress in their beloved city.
“Tagbilaran will keep going, and not only that, it will continue to grow as we support
the dreams of each Tagbilaranon towards shared progress in our beloved City,” she
said.
She also shared some of the statements that she made during the public
consultations, which reflected her stance on the project and her vision for the city.
“Series of public consultations on the proposed project were made, even down to the
grassroots level. The heartfelt sentiments of the people, especially the statement
made by Bishop Abet Uy (A person I respect so much and whose guidance I
treasure the most) Every other area of our life is built on top of our spiritual life,
therefore, we will listen to the advice of our Church through the discernment of
Bishop Abet Uy,” she said.
“Tagbilaran City will NOT CONTINUE WITH ALL ACTIVITIES pertaining to the
Tagbilaran City Waterfront Development Project. My priority will always be our
people and our natural environment. The City Government of Tagbilaran will always
listen to the voice of the people through its mission of consultative and participative
governance,” she added.
“As the FIRST Woman Mayor and the Mother of Tagbilaran City, it is my duty to
nurture our people and environment. A mother always listens to her children in order
to make decisions that will be for the benefit of all,” she continued.
“Following the leadership example of my husband, former Mayor John Geesnell
“Baba” Yap, we have always recognized that for real progress to be realized in the
City of Tagbilaran, collaboration of all sectors in society is essential,” she further
said.
“While we envision economic growth for Tagbilaran in order to provide more
employment opportunities in our communities, we always consider the environmental
impact of our economic policies and programs as a way to protect our rich natural
resources for the future generations of Tagbilaranons. We take our role as
responsible stewards of God’s creations to heart, as part of our mission to protect the
trust that has been given to us by the People,” the City Mayor concluded.
MOUNTING OPPOSITION
Earlier, the Bishop of the Diocese of Tagbilaran, Alberto ‘Abet’ Uy, had expressed his
opposition to the proposed Waterfront Development reclamation project in
Tagbilaran, which aims to create 153 hectares of land for upscale commercial and
industrial space.
In a manifesto released last Monday, Bishop Uy said the project is destructive to
both land and marine ecosystems, and can expose people to geo-hazards, posing
risk to life and property.
Bishop Uy said the project prioritizes short-term gains over long-term benefits, and
that the proposal has weak bases, calling for a better planning process.
He said that the project can stress both upland and coastal environments, hampering
life cycles of species as well as well-established and naturally balanced internal
interconnections within and between ecosystems. He cited Pope Francis’ encyclical
Laudato Si, which enjoins responsible cultivation and protection of nature, as a basis
for his opposition.
Uy has warned the project can threaten the stability of the areas bounded by the
North Bohol Fault (NBF), which was discovered after the M7.2 earthquake that jolted
the province in 2013. He quoted a Boholano geologist who advised that future
development needs to consider the geo-hazards posed by the existence of this
active fault, and that reclamation in that coastal area is strongly discouraged.
The bishop said that while the importance of growth in our economy cannot be
underestimated, the pressing call of the time is synergizing economic development
with environmental conservation.
He pointed out that sustainable development aims to meet human development
goals while also enabling natural systems to provide necessary natural resources
and ecosystem services to humans.
Uy noted that the proposed reclamation project promises a huge return of financial
investment, but a development initiative such as this, which advances economic
growth but compromises the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs
due to ecosystems destruction, is not sustainable.
The proposal involves a large scale reclamation that may positively and negatively
impact local or global goals, and that it necessitates rigorous research and thorough
analysis in relation to the three pillars of sustainable development, namely:
environmental, social, and economic aspects relevant to the proposal, according to
Uy.
He said that these are however wanting or weak. He said that supporters of the
project argue that the latter is also intended to address some local community issues
associated with informal settlement, and unemployment among others, but these are
motherhood statements.
Uy said: “what we are hoping for are plans that are clearly evidence–based, data-
driven, and context-tailored.”
He said that while a reclamation project can also be seen as a response to a growing
urban center, there is a chance that it might also exacerbate its problems. He said
that climate change realities also need to be taken into consideration in every
development planning process these days.
“We now live in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA)
world, which demands more well-informed decision and action,” the Bishop stressed.
He said that integral ecology affirms that humans are part of a broader world and
calls for “comprehensive solutions which consider the interactions within natural
systems themselves and with social systems”.
He urged the people of Bohol to be vigilant and discerning about the project, and to
uphold the common good and the integrity of creation. He also called on the local
government and other stakeholders to listen to the voice of the people and to respect
their decision.
He prayed that we all broaden our perspectives, extending our planning horizon for
the current and future generations.
He urged the proponents of the Tagbilaran Waterfront Development Project to
reconsider their plan, and he challenged the City Government of Tagbilaran to
employ innovative solutions that improve both ecology and economy; solutions that
are good for people and the planet.
The reclamation project is an unsolicited proposal from the Tagbilaran Waterfront
Development Corporation, which claims to address the challenge faced by the city
on the availability of land area for future development. The project cost is estimated
at 12 billion pesos.
The project envisions itself as a ‘highly urbanized, resilient and livable city by 2030’,
in line with the urbanization trend in many parts of the world. However, Bishop Uy
questioned how the project can address the critical nexus of economic security and
environmental sustainability, which is a global concern.