BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 6 has been asked to stop the ongoing construction of a P400-million seawall spanning the shorelines of barangays Rizal Pala-Pala and Tanza Bonifacio.
The City Council’s engineering, construction, and public works committee cited the project’s lack of permits from the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) and the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO).
“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 of the committee letter dated May 15 addressed to Engineer Sanny Boy Oropel, the DPWH-6 officer-in-charge.
In the press briefing, Oropel said the project aims to protect the 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 worth P400 million was funded by the national government through the General Appropriation Act for 2023. The contractor started constructing the project on Aug. 23, 2023, and is now 37.93 percent complete.
The city government initially did not object to the project due to its benefits to the city residents in terms of protection from floods and other natural calamities.
But Engr. Mavi Gustilo, the city’s Office of the Building Official (OBO) chief, informed the City Council’s engineering, construction, and public works committee that the project lacked permission from their office and 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.
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.
Sy recommended to DPWH to secure the necessary permits and clearances from the concerned government agencies and the city government, citing utmost consideration on the project’s environmental impact on communities./PN
