Wednesday, October 08, 2008 Guv, bridge board now ‘more open’ to recla project
GOV. Gwendolyn Garcia and the Mactan-Cebu Bridge Management Board (MCBMB) have toned down their opposition to the proposed Mactan North Reclamation and Development Project (MNRDP).
Garcia commended the Lapu-Lapu City Government’s drive to coordinate with agencies, unlike before when it bypassed some offices.
“Kinsa may kontra’g progress sa local government unit? Progress for one is progress for the entire province,” she told reporters after the meeting.
Lapu-Lapu City Administrator Teodulo Ybañez and Assistant City Attorney Michael Dignos showed MCBMB members a presentation on the P10-billion reclamation project.
Development
The same presentation was shut out during a special full council session of the Regional Development Council (RDC) 7 last July.
Garcia said she is happy that Lapu-Lapu was willing to present the project to the MCBMB and encouraged the City Government to do the same before the RDC 7, which was unhappy with the project the first time it was brought up.
According to an RDC resolution, it has a “special interest” in the reclamation project because of its “possible impact on navigation in the Mactan Channel, which is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the country” and its effect on plans to expand the Cebu International Port.
The National Economic and Development Authority 7 has also asked if the proposed reclamation project considered the environmental impact of a 400-hectare reclamation.
Dignos said they hired technical consultants who assured that the project will have a “very minimal effect” on the Mactan Channel.
MCBMB public sector representative Engr. Pericles Dakay formally asked Ybañez and Dignos to make another presentation, complete with the technical aspect and the environmental impact study, to allay all fears.
Financing was also brought up. Dignos assured that implementation will not be through non-government organization loans, adding that there are already several investors interested in the project.
Garcia also clarified that unlike the general perception, she is not against the project per se, but the process involved in the approval of the project.
League of Municipalities of the Philippines–Cebu President Cesar Baricuatro also asked about the wall that will separate the reclamation and Magellan Bay, as well as its possible effects on the Cebu Port Authority.
Also yesterday, the MCBMB tackled traffic matters in both Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu cities. It resolved to look at the possibility of acquiring a tow truck that will be used if a vehicle gets stalled on the bridges.
The botched delivery of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras with California Electronics also prompted Garcia to raise the idea of bringing the matter to court. She asked lawyer Augustinito Hermoso of the Department of Public Works and Highways 7 about what action can be taken against the company. (JGA)
