BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – The city government will check other projects implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Region 6 in the metropolis to determine if it has secured the necessary permits before construction.
Mayor Jerry Treñas expressed his disappointment at DPWH-6 for carrying out projects in the city without securing permits from city hall and other concerned agencies.
Treñas vowed to stop projects implemented by DPWH-6 in the city without permits and said he would not hesitate to lodge charges.
He specifically cited the cease and desist order issued against the ongoing construction of the P400-million seawall project spanning the shorelines of barangays Rizal Pala-Pala and Tanza.
“We will enforce it. I will make use of my police powers under the Local Government Code,” Treñas told reporters.
City Legal Office chief Edgardo Gil issued the cease and desist order against the seawall project for lack of permits from the Philippine Reclamation Authority, Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and for disregarding the provisions of the Local Government Code.
In the order, Gil said DPWH-6 did not conduct a public consultation with any of the concerned barangays before the project construction.
“At any rate, the Local Chief Executive has the power and authority under the Local Government Code to interpose its objection to the ongoing activities within its territorial jurisdiction any project or program that may cause pollution, climatic change, depletion of non-renewable resources, loss of cropland, rangeland, or forest cover,” the order read.
The cease and desist order came after the City Council asked DPWH-6 to stop the ongoing construction of the seawall.
Councilor Johnny Young, the council’s engineering, construction, and public works committee chairperson, requested Engineer Sanny Boy Oropel, DPWH-6 officer-in-charge, to issue a work stoppage order.
“Considering that the scope of the project involves the filing of rock 30 meters wide on portions of the bodies of water, it is recommended that an official query to the PRA should be forwarded to clarify whether or not the project be classified as reclamation or conversion into landfill and a subsequent clearance should be secured, if deemed necessary,” read Young’s letter dated May 15.
In a recent press briefing, Oropel said the seawall project aims to protect the city’s inland area from the effects of wave action and prevent coastal erosion, mitigating the loss of human lives and destruction of property during typhoons.
The project is funded by the national government through the General Appropriation Act for 2023. The contractor started working on it on Aug. 23, 2023, and is now 37.93 percent complete.
Engr. Mavi Gustilo, the city’s Office of the Building Official (OBO) chief, informed Young in a letter that the project lacked permission from their office and City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO).
Janis Mae Sy, CENRO acting chief, confirmed to Gustilo that the construction of the breakwater project did not secure a permit or clearance from her office before the construction.
In its report, CENRO noted the drainage of Barangay Tanza Bonifacio was damaged due to the delivery of materials. The project also lacked an impact assessment on the marine life and ecosystem in the project area.
DPWH-6 eventually acceded to the city government’s order and temporarily stopped the project construction./PN
