Senator Risa Hontiveros has urged the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to act immediately on the complaints of environmentalists and business groups over the construction of a P23-billion bridge connecting Samal Island and Davao City (SIDC).
Hontiveros said oppositors to the project have a valid reason, citing its impact on coral reefs and mangrove areas in Samal.
During a press briefing at the Senate on Monday, Hontiveros said she had actually raised the same issues during the 2023 budget deliberations for the DPWH. She stressed that the DPWH should reconsider the design of the project and conduct consultation with the stakeholders.
“The DPWH should do both of those things,” Hontiveros said. “I asked the DPWH about it during the last budget hearing and they have pointed out that there was an alternative site for the bridge.
The senator also mentioned a study by a Japanese group showing it would be more cost-effective to move the landing site of the bridge on a government-owned property on the Davao side.
“Why will the DPWH risk the coral reefs and mangroves if there are.
“If there are criticisms, findings, recommendations and alternatives, the span was among the major infrastructure projects of the national government under the President Rodrigo Duterte administration.
As envisioned, the bridge straddles Brgy. Limao in the Island Garden City of Samal, and Brgys. Vicente Hizon, Sr. Angliongto and R. Castillo in Davao City.
The project, which will be primarily funded by loans from China, has been awarded to the China Road and Bridge Corp., a Chinese state-owned construction company.
Environmentalists claimed that the SIDC bridge foundation on the Samal side would decimate a large area of Samal Island, which is currently classified as a mangrove swamp forest reserve, and thus declared by law as a “protected area.” The only way to disestablish the island as a protected area or to
modify the boundaries of its protection is through an act of Congress.
By law, all programs, projects and activities to be carried out in a protected area, whether an initial component of the National Integrated Protected Area System or a legislated one, must be cleared by the Protected Area Management Board.