10/07/2021
WE OPPOSE BUILDING AN ISLAND IN FRONT OF DUMAGUETE
Angel Alcala, Betty McCann, Ben Malayang III, Hilconida Calumpong, Rene Abesamis, Enrique Oracion, Janet Estacion, Robert Guinoo
Our REASONS
1. The project will directly destroy, literally bury, the few remaining coral reef, seagrass and soft-sediment ecosystems that support small-scale fisheries and gleaning in Dumaguete. A recent study recorded more than 200 species of fish in one of the areas that will be directly affected by the reclamation1. About 60% of these fish species are relied upon by local fishers in Dumaguete for livelihood and subsistence1.
2. The massive scale of this reclamation project and relatively steep slope of the seafloor off Dumaguete means that enormous amounts of material will be needed to create new land. This material will most likely be sourced from land or dredged from the seafloor, causing further damage to the source sites. If the material will be dredged from deeper soft-sediment sites adjacent to the reclamation sites, construction will not only bury the remaining shallow marine ecosystems of Dumaguete but also destroy deeper marine ecosystems that support local fisheries. A recent study estimated that up to 84% of the fish species found in these deeper ecosystems are targeted by local fishers in Dumaguete.1
3. Dumaguete City has committed to protect its marine ecosystems and secure the fisheries-based livelihoods of its constituents by legally establishing four marine protected areas (MPAs) over the past 20 years. These MPAs have a total area of approximately 104 ha and are situated off barangays Bantayan, Lo-oc, Mangnao and Banilad. These MPAs are part of a system of protected coral reefs, seagrass beds and soft-sediment ecosystems in Negros Oriental that is meant to boost fisheries productivity, conserve marine biodiversity and support tourism. The massive reclamation project will negatively impact these MPAs directly or indirectly. Some of these MPAs may even cease to exist. If the project pushes through, Dumaguete City will renege on its commitment to do its part in marine conservation for the province, region and country. It will be a disgraceful act considering that the MPA movement in the Philippines, known throughout the world for its successes in the past 40 years, has its roots in Dumaguete City at Silliman University.
4. Relocation, rehabilitation or reconstruction of the critical marine ecosystems that will be affected by this reclamation project is not feasible. Cost-effective and scientifically sound methods that would allow the recreation of entire functional marine ecosystems simply do not exist. For instance, a recent study showed that the vast majority of coral reef rehabilitation efforts around the world have not been able to scale up to the size of actual coral reef ecosystems, in the order of hundreds to thousands of hectares2. This is partly due to the monetary costs involved. Scientifically sound coral restoration may cost anywhere from several tens of thousands to millions of US dollars per hectare, not unlike the cost of restoring seagrass and mangrove ecosystems3. It seems likely that the planned reclamation project of Dumaguete City has not incorporated such tremendous expenses to offset the negative impacts on marine ecosystems, not to mention the economic and social impacts on local communities that are dependent on these ecosystems for food and livelihood.
5. The costs and benefits of this project while probably fully appreciated by its private developers and some officials in the City have not been revealed for wide public consideration. Neither are the technical, legal, and due diligence reviews done by the City Council. Absent this, the sociology, ecology, and the economics of the project are unclear. They are not available nor have they been openly discussed for scrutiny, verification, and validation, to provide the basis for fairly holding elected officials of the City legally, politically, morally, and electorally accountable.
6. Who will more and less benefit from this project? Sharing of revenues, when unclear on how revenues are to be recorded and accounted by two partners that is one public (the City) and the other private (developer) and each having their own accounting and auditing procedures and standards, does not ensure fair sharing. Besides, who will own the project, control access to and businesses in the island? These are valid technical concerns relevant to public well-being.
7. A project of such size, cost, and impact on the City requires either or both free and prior informed public examination and third party reviews to ensure its regularity and integrity in light of this being pushed just months prior to general elections and even sooner prior to election bans on infrastructure projects done by or with government.
Our APPEAL
1. The City Mayor to fully expose for public scrutiny and discussions (a) his appreciation and reasons for pushing this project, including how this Project would not disadvantage the government and people of Dumaguete; (b) his confidence on the developer with whom he will contractually obligate the City Government and the people and environment of the Ciity; and (c) the history, track record, and verification of owners and investors on the developer’s company.
2. The City Council to rescind its action to indorse this Project and its approval of the Contract as exercise of due legal diligence, political and electoral accountability to the citizens of Dumaguete, and good governance. This, until it has been furnished and had engaged in public reviews of the technical, social, economic, and ecological acceptability of the Project to the people of Dumaguete.
3. The Mayor and the Members of the Council to publicly disclose their individual and collective reasons why this haste of pushing this huge project knowing that elections are to be held next year and they might not be in office by then. Why not leave such a highly consequential project for the next Government to conduct more thorough review of it than would be available to the present Government at this time? All these, to hold a public interest in high moral grounds as is intended by the Constitution and laws of our country.
Cc:
Fidel Ramos, Honorary Doctorate Degree holder, Silliman University
Leonor Briones, Former Chair, Silliman University Board of Trustee
Julito Cortes, Bishop of the Diocese of Dumaguete
Philippine Association of Marine Science
Federation of Institutions of Marine and Freshwater Science
National Academy of Science and Technology
Foundation for Philippine Environment
Silliman University Alumni Association, Inc.
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References
1. Abesamis, R. A., Utzurrum, J. A. T., Raterta, L. J. J., & Russ, G. R. (2020). Shore-fish assemblage structure in the central Philippines from shallow coral reefs to the mesophotic zone. Marine Biology, 167(12), 1-15.
2. Boström-Einarsson, L., Babcock, R. C., Bayraktarov, E., Ceccarelli, D., Cook, N., Ferse, S. C., ... & McLeod, I. M. (2020). Coral restoration–A systematic review of current methods, successes, failures and future directions. PloS one, 15(1), e0226631.
3. Edwards, A.J. (ed.) (2010). Reef Rehabilitation Manual. Coral Reef Targeted Research & Capacity Building for Management Program: St Lucia, Australia. ii + 166 pp.
