The Tagbilaran Baywatch, a group of environmental advocates and concerned
citizens, has issued a position paper urging the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) of
Tagbilaran City to clarify its decision to consign the reclamation issue to the archives.
The group said SP’s action was “ambiguous” and could lead to different
interpretations, leaving the door open for the revival of the controversial project in the
future.
The reclamation issue refers to the proposal of the Tagbilaran Waterfront
Development Corporation (TWDC) to reclaim 153 hectares of Tagbilaran Bay for
commercial and residential purposes.
The project was met with strong opposition from various sectors, citing its negative
impact on the environment, livelihood, culture, and heritage of the city.
On November 24, 2023, Tagbilaran City Mayor Jane Yap announced she had
stopped the reclamation project, following the voice of the Tagbilaranons and the
advice of experts.
Mayor Jane said the SP, led by Vice-Mayor Adam Jala, would issue a resolution
denying the project.
However, the SP did not issue such a resolution in its session on December 1, 2023.
Instead, it declared the issue was “moot and academic” and consigned it to the
archives.
The Tagbilaran Baywatch said this decision was unclear and unsatisfactory.
They asked the SP to make an unequivocal clarification on whether the archiving of
the issue meant an implied revocation of all prior resolutions that granted the City
Mayor the authority to ratify and negotiate with the TWDC, or whether it was merely
a suspension of the whole process that could be resumed anytime.
The group has reiterated their call for the amendment of the Comprehensive Land
Use Plan (CLUP) to remove the provision on reclamation, and for the enactment of a
city and provincial ordinance and a national law prohibiting reclamation in the city
and province.
Environmentalists said they were asserting their rights under the Public Trust
Doctrine, which states that the seas and natural resources belong to the people and
the government is only a trustee that has to respect the will of the trustor, adding the
reclamation project was not worth the social and environmental costs and should be
totally scrapped.
INTERVIEW WITH CITY COUNCILOR ZAMORA
In a radio interview with Ardy Araneta Batoy of station DYTR, Tagbilaran City
Councilor “Butchie” Zamora discussed the reclamation project proposal of Mayor
Jane Yap and the recommendations of the committee he chairs.
Zamora bared that Mayor Jane sent a letter to the City Council asking for the
authority to solicit comparative proposals for the reclamation project, which aims to
create new land along the coast of Tagbilaran City.
The mayor also attached a copy of her statement on the transfer of the project to the
Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode.
Zamora said that the committee he chairs, which is in charge of reviewing the
project, arranged an emergency meeting and made a committee report.
The report recommended that before acting on the mayor’s request, the City Council
should conduct a public consultation to gather the opinions and concerns of the
stakeholders and the general public.
According to Zamora, the mayor also conducted a public consultation with the
stakeholders in her office and called a press conference where she publicly
expressed her position on the project.
Zamora said the committee made three findings based on the public consultation.
The first finding was that there was a lack of awareness and understanding of the
PPP code among the people of Tagbilaran City.
PPP code is the ordinance that regulates the partnership between the city
government and the private sector for the implementation of projects and programs.
Councilor Zamora noted that the first recommendation of the committee was for the
City Council, in partnership with the civil society organizations, to conduct activities
designed to enhance the awareness and understanding of the PPP code among the
public and the CSO partners.
Zamora said the second finding was that the people wanted to be engaged as much
as possible and as early as possible in the decision-making process of the project.
He pointed out that the second recommendation of the committee was for the
enhancement of the PPP code through proper measure making, ensuring that public
engagement and public consultation were conducted as early as possible and for
projects that had a major impact on the environment, an environmental impact
assessment of the project proposal was included.
He said the third finding and recommendation of the committee were not yet finalized
and would be discussed in the next committee meeting.
Zamora, a lawyer, said the committee report would be presented to the City Council
for deliberation and approval.
He revealed that the committee was open to suggestions and feedback from the
public and the stakeholders.