Facts being buried under Consolacion reclamation

Consolacion Mayor Joannes Alegado does not seem to be very straightforward and transparent when it comes to disclosing all the facts pertaining to the 236-hectare reclamation project that a company called La Consolacion Seafront Development Corp. is undertaking in partnership with the local government.

It appears only the high-sounding sloganeering like "Taking Consolacion to Greater Heights" is being trumpeted. The more critics and potentially disastrous consequences to business, livelihood, environment, and general safety posed by the project are being willfully ignored or outrightly buried, thus raising many serious but valid questions about what could be in it for the mayor.

For instance, some environmental experts and advocates of reclamation projects in the Visayas gathered last week for an online forum on the pros and cons of reclamation projects. With regard to the Consolacion project, an expert, in her presentation of a geographical analysis of Cebu province, said mangroves in Bagacay, Paknaan, Basak, and Tugbongan, areas in the way of the project, are in overall good health. Do we kiss them goodbye?

She also said there are 71 species of corals in Consolacion. Do we kiss them goodbye, too? Consolacion is home to larvae and fish eggs that are yet to hatch or fully develop into grown and mature marine animals. Do we say goodbye to them as well? As to human beings, fishermen not just from Consolacion also fish in the area. Do we let them kiss away their means of livelihood also?

Such data by themselves may not seem groundbreaking as even common sense will bear them out to be true without expert backing. But in face of Alegado’s latest pronouncements, there is a need to raise red flags yet again. For one, Alegado claimed there are no more fishermen who go into the area to be wiped out by the project. Really?

Alegado also seems to be particularly tight-lipped when it comes to any environmental hazards the project may cause. This seems to fit a pattern of misleading public statements. In an interview with Cebu Business Week he said shipyards only secured tenurial instruments of foreshore area as part of their registration. Lost from his narrative is that these documents were never required in the past decades these businesses have been operating.

In the above-mentioned online forum, the environmental experts discussed other reclamation projects being planned in Cebu, such as in Cordova. Among the hazards discussed was the narrowing of the Mactan Channel, which would increase tidal current velocity and damage marine flora and fauna. Current-borne debris and project dumpings will inundate the 3,600 hectares of seagrass beds and coral reefs in and outside the channel.

While such findings were specific to Cordova, the experts did not rule out these happening to Consolacion as reclamation projects naturally involve similar dumping that could inevitably kill immature and developing marine life, thereby causing a serious imbalance in the aquatic ecosystems of Consolacion and nearby areas. The increase in current velocity in the channel puts homes, small boats, and vital infrastructure like bridges in peril.

It is hoped the DENR had listened intently to the findings presented during the forum so it can do its job of protecting the environment even if it means stopping expensive reclamation projects. The forum also made it clear that the NEDA is responsible for approving such projects. If it approves the one in Consolacion despite the potential harm it can cause to a variety of sectors in a variety of ways, then it will be a party to "undevelopment."