A long-dormant reclamation project in Tagbilaran City has resurfaced as a contentious issue, with City CouncilorMalvin “Atoy” Torralba filing a resolution to revoke the original proponent status granted to the Tagbilaran Waterfront Development Corporation (TWDC).
TWDC had proposed to reclaim a huge portion of Tagbilaran Bay (about 150 hectares), affecting several coastal barangays in the city.
Torralba’s resolution, filed on Dec. 6, 2024, seeks to cancel Resolution No. 22-231, which confirmed the TWDC’s original proponent status for the project.
However, the resolution was met with opposition from Vice Mayor Adam Jala, who believes that Torralba’s move is a political ploy to gain an advantage in the upcoming mayoral elections.
Jala argued that the issue has been dead for over a year, and that Torralba’s resolution is “moot and academic.”
Torralba, who is running against incumbent Mayor Jane Yap in the 2025 elections, insisted that his resolution is not motivated by politics, but rather by his duty as a city councilor to protect the environment and the interests of the people.
The reclamation project has been a contentious issue in Tagbilaran City, with many residents and environmental groups opposing it due to concerns about its potential impact on the city’s marine biodiversity, ecosystems, and natural storm buffers.
In November 2023, Mayor Yap announced that she would no longer pursue the reclamation project, citing the strong opposition from the public.
The city council subsequently passed a resolution supporting the mayor’s decision in December 2023.
Despite this, Torralba believes that the original proponent status granted to the TWDC should still be revoked to completely bury the reclamation issue.
He argued that as long as the resolution remains in effect, there is still a possibility that the project could be revived.
The issue has also sparked a debate about the city’s history with reclamation projects.
Retired Judge Jorge Cabalit recently revealed that a similar reclamation project was proposed in 2003, during the administration of former Mayor Jose Torralba, Atoy’s father.
Cabalit opposed the project at the time, citing its potential environmental impact.
The city council has referred Torralba’s resolution to the joint committee on city planning and environment for further study.
The committee is expected to review the resolution and make a recommendation to the city council.
In the meantime, the debate over the reclamation project is expected to continue, with Torralba and his opponents trading barbs over the issue.
As the 2025 elections approach, the reclamation project is likely to remain a contentious issue in Tagbilaran City politics.
BABA YAP PUSHED FOR RECLAMATION OF TAGBILARAN BAY
In a 2021 resolution, the Fifteenth SangguniangPanlungsod (City Council) of Tagbilaran confirmed the original proponent status for the Tagbilaran Waterfront Development Corporation.
The resolution, No. 92-231, notes that on September 13, 2021, Tagbilaran City Mayor John Geesnel L. Yap II conferred the Original Proponent Status to the Tagbilaran Waterfront Development Corporation.
This status was granted in accordance with Ordinance No. C-267, which outlines the city’s public-private partnership code.
The resolution further states that there is a need to confirm the earlier conferment of Original Proponent Status to Tagbilaran Waterfront Development Corporation to officially recognize its status under the present administration.
The Fifteenth SangguniangPanlungsod has now formally resolved to confirm the original proponent status conferred to the Tagbilaran Waterfront Development Corporation for the Tagbilaran City Waterfront Development Project.
The decision aligned with the government’s efforts to accelerate annual infrastructure spending and promote public-private partnerships, as outlined in the socio-economic agenda.