A non-government organization in Sibuyan Island in Romblon province has called on the government to again stop and reevaluate a road project that will cut through the Mt. Guiting-Guiting Natural Park, a declared protected area.
“Mt. Guiting-Guiting Natural Park or known as #G2 has thick forests which serve as carbon sink and protection against landslides and floods in the entire island,” Rodne Galicha, chairman of the Bayay Sibuyanon Inc., said.
Galicha pointed out that the project was already halted in 2018 by the Department of Public Works and Highways but was again included in the 2020 national budget with a P95 million allocation.
The project, a 3.8-kilometer road that provides a link to the Magdiwang Port from San Fernando, is supported by local officials citing economic benefits.
However, Galicha, argued that the environmental cost outweighs the potential commercial value. With Mt. Guiting-Guiting’s plant and mammal biodiversity, considered one of the richest in the world.
“The small island of Sibuyan has been contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation and disaster risk reduction,” said Galicha, a recipient of the 2018 Ten Outstanding Young Men Philippines award for Environment and Climate Change.
The mountain’s watersheds also power a mini-hydro power plant that serves as an energy source on the island. It has been once dubbed the Galapagos of Asia due to its high level of endemism.
Mt. Guiting Guiting has the cleanest inland body of water in the country and one of the densest forests in the world. Almost every year new species is discovered, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
The mountain is considered as one of the toughest and most diverse mountains to hike which is known among hikers and travelers both locally and internationally.
He also noted that the project did not go through community consultation. Mt. Guiting-Guiting Natural Park which is a protected area by virtue of Presidential Proclamation 746 signed by former President Fidel V. Ramos in 1996, pursuant to Republic Act 7586 (NIPAS Act).
It is also a clear violation of R.A 11038 otherwise known as Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018" and Proclamation No746 Series of 1996 which declares Mt. Guiting Guiting as a protected area.
Galicha added that the P95 million budget for the road should instead by realigned for the coronavirus response or reallocated to unfinished infrastructure projects on the island such as the circumferential and farm to market roads, bridges, and ports.
