The Environmental Legal Assistance Center
(ELAC) issued a solidarity statement for
Tagbilaran Baywatch.
The statement was posted on social media on
December 26, 2023.
The group of legal luminaries said it stands with
Tagbilaran Baywatch in its continued fight against
the proposed reclamation of Tagbilaran Bay.
“We praise our colleagues in Tagbilaran Baywatch
in their staunch position to oppose the reclamation
project,” the statement reads.
ELAC is an environmental non-government
organization committed to helping communities
uphold their constitutional right to a healthy and
balanced ecology, according to its website.
The ELAC said: “Several scientific and technical
studies of reclamation projects in the province of
Cebu, the municipality of Coron in northern
Palawan, and Manila Bay have underscored the
severe environmental and social impacts of dump
and fill projects to our mangroves, seagrass beds
and coral reefs and other coastal resources, as
well as the livelihood of our fiaherfolks and other
local communities. Until today, monitoring efforts
of all these reclamation projects are almost nil and
the cumulative impacts have not been studied
thoroughly and disseminated to the public.”
The statement adds, “At this juncture, the
precautionary principle must be applied, such that
among others, “the proponent of the activity rather
than the public should hear the burden of proof.”
The Tagbilaran Baywatch is a group of concerned
Boholanos who oppose the proposed 153-hectare
reclamation project by the Tagbilaran Waterfront
Development Corporation (TWDC).
Tagbilaran City Mayor Jane Yap announced on
Nov. 24, 2023, in a press conference that she will
no longer entertain the reclamation proposal that
could affect several coastal barangays of the city.